Chuck vs All of the Intersects
by MyNameIsJeffNImLost
Summary: Whatever happened to the Ring's Intersect computer? This is a Team Bartowski/Charah/Buy Moron/spy/friendship/romance/humor/family fic set after 4.10.
1. Morgan vs the Intersect

A/N: I had this idea shortly after Season 3 finished, before I was reading fan fiction, but I forgot about it for a while. I finally started it around when Season 4 began, and then I promptly put it on hold to see if I could make it canon-compatible. (As if that would work. I thought _Sarah vs. the Mystery Agent _wouldn't be AU until Season 4 started, but it was made AU by the Encino Buy More in the Jeffster Webisodes. _Chuck vs. the Uniforms_ seemed safe but was made AU by the _Chuck vs. the Suitcase_.) I decided to make this story AU and set after 4.10.

A couple of months ago on the forum, P.J. Murphy asked about a story with Casey or Morgan as an Intersect. I had half of this chapter written at the time. Check out his "Chuck vs Two Grunts and a Flash".

Disclaimer: Nobody else owns anything here, so why would I?

Disclaimer 2: No beta. Why would I sucker/obligate/subject anyone into reading this when they didn't want to?

_Published: 15 Dec 2010_

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**Chapter 1 – Morgan vs. the Intersect**

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"Uhhhh, what happened?" Morgan slowly rubbed his hand over his face and opened his eyes. The surrounding were somehow familiar, he just couldn't place them. Scanning the room, he saw he was lying on a hard bench and surrounded by grey walls—all except one, which was glass. Beyond that wall he saw his "friend."

"Casey, why am I in one of Castle's holding cells?" 

Casey did not respond at first. He looked firm, but not steaming with the full anger of which he was capable. That was a good sign for Morgan. "Come on, what did I do to deserve this?"

"It's your own fault."

Morgan started to reply but hesitated. He knew most of the trouble he got into _was_ his own fault. But for the life of him, he could not remember what it was this time. Plus he had a huge headache.

"You just couldn't keep your hands to yourself, numb nuts, could you?"

_Oh no! He knows!_ Morgan eye opened wide in panic. "Casey, I can explain. Believe me my hands were in a completely respectful position the whole night." Casey's firm expression transformed into one of confusion. Morgan continued, "I'm not very good and running the bases, or running of any kind. I would never try to take advantage of such a beautiful woman."

Casey's expression jumped to one of crazed anger. "My hands only went to places where she explicitly gave me permission." Casey drew his weapon and opened the door. "She is the one that initiated...everything that happened. And—" Morgan was silenced with three quick tranq shots, center mass. He slumped to the floor, where Casey left him.

XXXXXXXX

_**One hour earlier.**_

Morgan squatted through the door and dove behind the sofa. Hopefully no one had seen him. Crawling across the floor on his front, he approached the hatch. One more glance around his albeit limited view revealed no one, so it was now or never. He opened the hatch and descended head-first down the ladder. That was a mistake. After three rungs of the ladder, his complete upper body was through the hatch, and his arms could not support the weight. With an awkward twist, he fell the rest of the way down the ladder. Fortunately, his grip on the ladder slowed his descent. It would hurt in the morning, but he was in. Mission accomplished. Next time, though, he would use an elevator. Or a slide.

After brushing himself off and stretching his wrists and hands, Morgan headed off to find Chuck. After no success in the dojo, the armory, or the infirmary, Morgan stood in front of the main conference table in the communication center. Still no Chuck.

"Morgan, what are you doing here?"

Morgan jumped and saw his other roommate enter the room behind him. _Boy is she sneaky!_

"Hi, Sarah. I'm looking for Chuck."

"Chuck's busy."

"I know. I know. He's researching the Ring's Intersect download computer. That's why I'm here. I'm here to help."

"Don't you already have a job managing the Buy More?"

"Yeah, but it's slow. Jeff and Lester have the day off so they do not need monitoring. I was bored, so I came to help Chuck."

"How exactly would you help Chuck? It's not like you have a degree in Electrical Engineering and can analyze the Intersect computer."

Morgan loosely shook his head as he inhaled and rolled his eyes. "I see. My value has never been fully appreciated. You are looking at the manager of an electronic superstore. The Intersect is an electronic thing. So obviously I'm qualified. Could you please tell me where Chuck is?"

Sarah finally let out a brief laugh and a smile. Chuck had been working too hard the last few days and could use a break. "Sure, Morgan. Follow me."

Morgan could barely believe she bought that. He must be getting good at this spy stuff.

XXXXXXXX

Chuck was finally getting somewhere. This would have been a lot easier if the Ring had just followed his dad's initial designs. _Why were computer designers always changing things that did not need to be changed, always reinventing the wheel?_ Now he was to the point he could start some simple tests.

"Hey, Chuck!"

Chuck jumped from his crouched position under the main Intersect podium, banging his head and causing him to fall back on his rear. "Oww-waa!"

Sarah darted to Chuck's side to support his head. "Chuck. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, Sarah. More surprised than in pain. The Intersect has a lot of skills, but detecting a stealthy approach is not one of them. Not that I ever mind seeing you, but what are you doing here?" Chuck lightly smiled as Sarah helped him to his feet.

"You have a visitor." Sarah motioned to the door.

Scratching the non-existent bump on his head, Chuck looked over to see his bearded best friend.

"Hi, Chuck!" Morgan deliberately stepped into the room with his regular goofy grin.

_Oh no. Morgan was bored. _Chuck could not hide is annoyance. "Morgan. What are you doing here? I'm kinda busy right now, and you really shouldn't be here"

Morgan shifted to a crushed look so fast that it was obvious he was faking. "I see how it is. You smile for Sarah, but kick me out."

"Hold on there, buddy. First, you know I love you, but I love Sarah in a much different way and no offense, but you don't look like she does. I can't help but smile." Chuck threw Sarah a wink, which she replied to with a playful smirk.

"Ok, I see your point." Morgan acknowledged, bobbing and tucking his head.

"And second, I haven't actually kicked you out." Chuck continued. Morgan looked up with his goofy grin returning.

"Sarah, honey, Morgan is going to help me a few minutes, and then I'm certain he has to get back to his managerial duties. I'll catch you later for lunch."

"Sounds good." Sarah leaned in to Chuck for a quick peck on the lips. "Morgan, you can find your way out?"

"Of course. Of course. Thanks, Sarah." And with that Sarah left.

Chuck returned his focus to the open floor panel below the Intersect podium. "You know, Morgan, for all the times I've used off-site install as a cover it's kinda funny that it is the truth this time," Chuck mused. "Sooo, what are you really doing here? And don't tell me you're just bored. I know you've been obsessing too much about Alex to be bored."

Morgan settled down cross-legged next to Chuck, who now had his head through the missing floor section. "You're right there. Alex and I went on a date last night. It went great...really, really great."

"Good to hear. So what's the problem?"

"I wish it were just one problem. First, there's Casey. Right now, I'm banking on the hope that Casey would not want to alienate his newly discovered daughter by killing or maiming her steady boyfriend."

"_Steady _Boyfriend? You're up to that title now?" Chuck blindly reached around finding the needed fiber cable at Morgan's feet. Drawing the cable into the access hole, Chuck realized he didn't actually expect Morgan to be helpful.

"Ooohh, yeaahh. After last night, I'd say I am definitely her steady. Well, I think I am. I hope so. I don't know. Chuck, when two people…"

"Morgan! Remember, I do _not _want details! First of all, eww! Second of all, I don't want to have to lie to Casey. Maybe you should be open and honest with Alex and get _her_ to clarify your status. I know that would have saved years of suffering for Sarah and me."

"Good plan. Good plan."

"So what are the other problems? Are you worried about the age difference?"

"No. I know we don't meet the half plus seven or eight rule. But who are we kidding? Alex is really mature for her age. She's probably already more mature than I will ever be. So that's not a problem."

Chuck silently agreed with that assessment. Alex was probably more mature three years ago than Morgan would ever be. However, lately he had shown promise. "Then what is it?"

"Guys like us really don't have a chance with women like Alex and Sarah. Well maybe you, but not me." Morgan sighed.

"Come on, Morgan. You are the _manager_ of the Buy More. Plus you were put in charge of the cover for the CIA and NSA's most important west-coast operations center. You might have once been the sales clerk who was allergic to work. But now you are a very successful person."

"That's not enough for someone special like Alex. So I was thinking…"

Chuck quietly groaned.

"I was thinking," Morgan continued, "if the Intersect could turn you from a stagnate, love-sick underachiever into the greatest hope of the free world, thereby making you worthy of one Sarah Walker…"

Chuck stopped his work. _Here it comes._

"…a little Intersect might help win the heart of the lovely Alex McHugh. Seriously, it's not like there can be only one. You are not the Highlander, Chuck. I'm sure the CIA and NSA would love to have another Intersect."

Chuck sighed, paused, and slowly shook his head. "Morgan, I've barely started this project."

"Chuck, you've been holed up...down...up...down here all week," Morgan countered

"Most of that time I was installing the screens and laying the wiring. I'm still not done with that. Plus it took over a day for the CIA supercomputer to hack the database password. This stuff doesn't happen as fast as it does on TV." Chuck glanced around, trying to remember what he was in the middle of, before the interruption.

"You're going be able to get this working, right?" Morgan actually looked concerned.

"I hope so, Morgan. That's what this project is all about. Beckman took me off Castle defense systems training to focus on getting the Ring's Intersect computer working. They put a lot of confidence in me, and I don't want to let them down."

"Ok, but what about your dad's laptop?"

"Awesome said Ellie fixed some memory problem."

"It worked for you."

"I still don't know if there are any other side effects to it."

"I have complete faith in you, Chuck. And when you get this one working, I'm your guy," Morgan enthusiastically offered.

"Morgan, I still have to make sure this one is safe too. All of the Fulcrum operatives that used their Intersect had their brains melted. And he-who-shall-not-be-named went completely nuts."

"That guy was already completely nuts," Morgan agreed.

Chuck went back to his wiring. "Ok, but I'm not going to hook my best friend up to this without proper testing. Even then, I doubt the CIA will let you download it."

"I could be a test subject. You could put in a word."

Chuck thought for a few seconds. His voice echoed from underneath the floor panels where he was reaching for the last cable. "Beckman has been surprisingly receptive to my plans lately. I'll see what I can do...after I make sure it is safe."

Chuck knew something was going on with his friend. This whole conversation had a sense of urgency that was not really necessary. "So Morgan, what else is going on? This can't just be about Alex."

"I want to help out the team more."

"You are, buddy. Awesome saw through the old cover in seconds...well maybe minutes. I do think Ellie is a little suspicious now that you are the manager. However as long as she stays calm with the baby, I kinda hope she does figure it out. Why do you think you need to do more? Or is this about impressing Alex, too."

Morgan was up, pacing back and forth around the room. "Alex is fine with what I do. She even told me she wants me to stay safe."

"Not _that_."

"What?"

"Oh, sorry. That's my recurring argument with Sarah."

"Really? But you have the Neo-power now."

"I'm not sure she would get the reference. Remember I didn't originally have the 2.0. Also, Sarah has a highly over-developed sense of protection."

Morgan grinned, "She loves you, man! See, that's why I don't mind Alex wanting me to stay safe."

"So Alex said she loves you?" Chuck's progress had stopped again as the conversion was becoming more interesting.

"No, not yet. That's probably a good thing too, seeing as Casey doesn't know what we were doing last night."

Chuck realized something. "So that is what this is about."

"Yes, if I'm an Intersect, maybe Casey won't kill me."

Chuck saw the typically pointless of this conversation and turned back to his work again. "Casey won't kill you. He has threatened me many times, but never followed through. And he already likes you better than he did me back then."

"But you weren't dating his daughter." Morgan argued

"I did blow up is car." Chuck optimistically responded.

"Really?"

"Really. The original did not have the missile launcher."

"So he got an upgrade out of the deal. I doubt he is upgrading Alex anytime soon. 'Cause that is not possible."

"You have it bad...like me." Chuck thought a serious approach might help. "Morgan, you and Alex need to talk to Casey."

"I know. I know. Alex thinks so too. It didn't go so well last time. I'm just not ready for my life to end yet. I need to find a place of calm. However, I can never find that place because Casey is always watching. Wait a second—" Morgan's eyes expanded in panic.

"Don't worry. Surveillance is off in here. Only Beckman, Sarah, Casey and you are allowed to know what I am doing in here. Greta doesn't even know."

"So he is not watching right now?" Morgan looked only slightly reassured.

_*THUD, THUD, THUD*_

"Ahhh!"

Casey abruptly opened the door and stepped in. "Calm down, Moron. You are in a secure government facility."

"Casey, what are you doing here? Chuck is trying to work."

"And you are helping?" Casey raised an eyebrow.

"I'm providing moral support." Morgan defended.

Casey grunted. "Shouldn't you be back in the manager's office? Protecting our cover? We have a shipment arriving in a half hour."

"Fine. I'll be there in ten."

Casey grunted, turned and left.

Morgan squatted next to Chuck. "Man, that was creepy. See what I mean. He is always watching."

"You'll be fine. I'm almost done here. Could you call Sarah? I need to run a test."

"Speaking of Sarah, how's the new proposal plan coming?"

"Not now, Morgan. Sarah might hear. She's sneaky. You never know when she'll hear us."

"If you say so." Morgan got up and pressed intercom at the side of the door. He tenored, "Agent Walker to the test room. Agent Walker to the test room."

Sarah quickly appeared, as if she had been waiting in the hallway.

"Wow, that was fast! How do you do that?"

Sarah ignored him. "What's up Chuck?"

"I think I'm ready to run the first test." Chuck jerked up and righted himself.

Sarah frowned. "Are you sure this is safe?" 

"Don't worry. I've swapped the Ring database with some newly encoded test images. No skills. Just background information about the latest Greta, which I have been assured was not in my previous Intersect downloads. I tend to pass out after a download so I just need you to observe. I can enable the far side wall camera—like this." Chuck pressed a few buttons on a wall panel. "That camera faces away from the Intersect images, so it should be safe to monitor from the control room next door."

Morgan looked hopeful.

"Morgan, you can join Sarah, if you'd like."

Morgan grinned, but Sarah was still concerned.

"Don't worry, Sarah. I've done this seven times before, not counting the times it was cleared or blocked. This will be my shortest download. I'll be fine."

Chuck gave Sarah a peck on the forehead and a bright smile causing a half smile to leak out of the left corner of Sarah's mouth. After a brief but obsessive moment of starting at Chuck, Sarah turned and left, with Morgan following in step behind her.

XXXXXXXXX

_**Two minutes later.**_

"Chuck! Chuck! Are you ok?"

Chuck slowed opened his eyes to a beautiful sight. At that moment, he wished he could awaken to that sight for the rest of his life. Granted Sarah's panicked look was not her best, but anytime Sarah was looking at him was something to behold.

"Chuck, can you hear me?"

He slowly grinned in response. The smile expanded to a rather goofy proportion, considering Chuck was flat on his back on the floor.

"Chuck? What are you grinning at?"

"Only my gorgeous girlfriend."

Sarah rolled her eyes at the quip. "Chuck you scared me!"

"What's the matter? I told you I sometimes collapse after a download. You even saw me do so last time."

Sarah pulled Chuck up to a sitting position and slowly caressed his jaw. "Chuck, you been out for five minutes."

"Hmmm. Well, the first time, or I should say the second time, I mean the first one after Bryce destroyed the Interest, I blacked out for several hours."

"Hours?"

"It was a big download. I'm actually surprised it didn't happen with the 2.0. This one was a tiny download, so there must be something unique about the image rendering system. Maybe it is programmed to transmit the images too fast. I should see if—"

"Oh no, you don't! I'm taking you to the infirmary were you can lie down while I check you over."

Chuck smiled and then noticed Morgan at the door. "Sarah, I thought we agreed to not talk about that stuff in front of others."

Sarah's eyes opened like saucers. "No. I'm _really_ going to check you over—medically. I need to check your blood pressure and check for a concussion. You should put some ice on your head."

Sarah pulled Chuck up and gently rubbed his back as they walked out the room, leaving Morgan alone in the room.

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_**A half hour later.**_

Chuck finally escaped Sarah's mothering. Not that he minded her attention. He just preferred when that attention had a different focus. The bump on his head was barely worth mentioning, and it only hurt when it was touched. Still, Sarah was in one of her more affectionate moods, so on the balance, this was a good injury.

Sarah hung on Chucks arm as they strolled down the hallway to the Interest room. Chuck decided his next task was to see if there was some way to slow the upload speed. As they approached the door, Casey hurried up behind them. Sarah and Chuck turned, her hand sliding down into his.

"Have either of you seen the bearded loser? He wasn't there to sign for the Buy More delivery. Big Mike wasn't happy he had to cover for him."

Chuck internally laughed at the frustrated look on Casey's face. Colonel Casey: part time NSA assassin, part time Buy More political wrangler. Chuck thumbed the door lock interface, and opened the door.

"No, we haven't seen him since I powered up the Ring Intersect a half our ago. I'd help you look but I really need to get back to..." Chuck drifted off as he looked in the room and saw Morgan flat on the floor. Chuck rushed into the room, dragging Sarah behind him. "Morgan!"

Chuck looked back and forth between his friend and the Intersect podium. "No. He wouldn't." Chuck and Sarah shared and concerned look and separated. Sarah checked Morgan's vitals while Chuck tapped through the Intersect control panel.

Casey grunted. "Don't tell me Morgan uploaded it."

Sarah interrupted. "His pulse is steady and his eyes are equal and reactive. He probably just took a harder fall when he looked at the test images."

"No it's worse than that. It looks like he didn't upload the test images. He uploaded the full Ring Intersect database."

Casey drew his weapon.

"Casey! What are you doing?" Chuck cried out.

Casey focused his sights on Morgan. "We don't know what programming might be in that Ring Intersect. He can't be trusted." Sarah cautiously stepped between Casey and Chuck.

"Trusted? He might not even be ok. He could be delusional like the Fulcrum test subjects. No gun pointing is necessary. And no shooting."

Casey let out a short grunt and shook his head. "Of course, I'm not going to shoot him...yet. I just think we should be cautious and put him in a holding cell. We'll let him out once we're sure he has not been brain-washed like the rest of those Ring traitors."

"But Casey—"

Sarah interceded, "It'll be ok, Chuck. It's a good idea to protect Morgan. Even if he hasn't been brainwashed, we don't want him to hurt himself with Intersect 2.0 skills. Casey and I will take Morgan to a comfortable holding cell while you figure out what happened."

Casey sneered "It's obvious what happened. Morgan here decided to be a hero and instead fried his brain, becoming a drooling idiot, not that we'll be able to tell the different."

"Casey, that's not helping. Don't worry, Chuck. I'll make sure he is ok, and you'll figure this out."

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A/N: Coming next… Chapter 2 – Sarah vs. the Intersect


	2. Sarah vs the Intersect

_Published 20 Dec 2010_

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_**Here're a few things you should know, in case you forgot.**_

"_Casey, why am I in one of Castle's holding cells?"_

_-X-_

"_I was thinking," Morgan continued, "if the Intersect could turn you from a stagnate, love-sick underachiever into the greatest hope of the free world, thereby making you worthy of one Sarah Walker…" _

_Chuck stopped his work. Here it comes._

"…_a little Intersect might help win the heart of the lovely Alex McHugh. Seriously, it's not like there can be only one. You are not the Highlander, Chuck. I'm sure the CIA and NSA would love to have another Intersect."_

_-X-_

_Casey grunted. "Don't tell me Morgan uploaded it."_

_Sarah interrupted. "He's pulse is steady and his eyes are equal and reactive. He probably just took a harder fall when he looked at the test images."_

_"No it's worse than that. It looks like he didn't upload the test images. He uploaded the full Ring Intersect database."_

_Casey drew his weapon._

_"Casey! What are you doing?" Chuck cried out._

_Casey focused his sights on Morgan. "We don't know what programming might be in that Ring Intersect. He can't be trusted." _

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**Chapter 2 – Sarah vs. the Intersect**  
**The Walkertowski-Grimes Home**

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_**The next morning.**_

Sarah glared at the toaster. Maybe if she gave a really hard stare, it would toast faster. Not that the toaster had done anything wrong, but it was the best target for her frustration which she could find at the moment. She just needed the toast to cook faster so she could get to work faster. A minute ago, this seemed like a faster breakfast than waiting in line at the Buy More plaza muffin shop. She wasn't in a cheery mood that went along with a muffin anyway. Now, the toaster was prolonging her agony. She almost left it a half a minute ago, but it would do no good to accidentally burn down the apartment.

Finally the toast was released, after which it went straight into the disposal. Sarah had lost her appetite. Maybe Chuck would take her for an early lunch. With that hopeful thought, Sarah grabbed her purse, keys, and gun and headed out to her car. The sooner she was out of the apartment, the better.

Sarah had thought she had moved in to her new home. Her suitcase was even unpacked. The problem she discovered last night was while she was often in the apartment alone, she had never spent an entire night there alone. Yes, it seemed pathetic. She almost knocked on Ellie and Awesome's door around midnight. Fortunately, common sense took hold before she woke her pregnant friend.

It's not like Sarah couldn't handle a night alone anymore. Recently, she had been alone more often than not. First, searching for Volkoff and Chuck's mom. Then hunting for Chuck. However, those were on missions. For almost three years, she had been alone at the hotel. The key difference was every place around the hotel room didn't remind her of Chuck. Every scent didn't smell like Chuck. While she lived at the apartment, _Chuck_ was her home. If her surroundings were going to remind her of Chuck, then he should be there too!

It was ridiculous, Sarah knew. Eventually, she would get used to this. Another small step in their relationship: learning to be apart without the helpful distraction of a mission.

The small steps were not the real problem. All of this focus on her first night at the apartment alone was just an excuse. The real problem was the night alone gave her time to think about the Next Big Step. The one that seemed to be hanging over her now for over a month. Sarah didn't know what she had done wrong. She thought she had sent all the right signals. But now it was the new year, and Chuck still had not proposed.

2011 was supposed to be a great year. No threats of bunkers or 49Bs. No evil exes. Just Chuck and Sarah, engaged to be married. Sarah would be a wife! And that didn't scare her. The thought thrilled her! As a bonus she would even become an aunt to Baby Awesomette. Chuck would be the favorite uncle and she would be the cool, but slightly overprotective aunt. She could be the cool aunt, couldn't she? She'd have Chuck's help with that. Being an aunt would be a much preferred, safer, and smaller step than that other misunderstanding which inspired "the chat".

Unfortunately, none of this was the case—at least not yet. Maybe Sarah had misread the signs. First there was the almost proposal. Ok, maybe not the proposal, because it was an accident with a $15 ring. Their mutual reactions after it were definitely a sign. Then there was the book with the wedding rings and the speech in Costa Gravas. Yes, that had been scary, but it made Sarah realize she was actually ready. After all, she knew she was going to always love Chuck, so why not be married? Next Chuck lost the Intersect and everything was side-tracked because they weren't around each other as much. Then she discovered the proposal plan, and more importantly Chuck knew she knew about the proposal plan. She told Chuck she wanted to marry him in the lab. Chuck admitted he remembered what she said. Why weren't they engaged?

Chuck had insisted on coming up with a new plan—something Sarah didn't need. She just wanted to be his fiancée now! With the new Intersect and now this project with the Ring's Intersect computer, everything seemed to have been side-tracked again.

She occasionally picked up hints. Typically they were hushed conversations with Morgan as she entered the room. Sometimes it scared her that Morgan was in the loop about the plan. Hopefully Chuck was just using Morgan for confidence boosting, not ideas. By now, Chuck should know that if Morgan thought it was a good idea, the idea should be scrapped.

Not that the plan actually mattered anymore. After getting through Christmas and the dozens of holiday jewelry TV commercials about "who went where" and "how kisses begin", she just wanted him to propose! She'd almost proposed to him on New Year's, but decided he might be devastated if he didn't get a chance to carry out his new plan. Now with Morgan uploading the Intersect, who knew how long it would be.

Why was she dwelling? She was almost as bad as that Thai attaché said she was. No. This is all because she was home alone without Chuck and had too much time to think. Fortunately, she would see Chuck in a few minutes, so she could stop obsessing. Maybe she would go to the range today because she really needed to shoot something. Of course that would be after distracting Chuck with a little make-out session to make up for last night.

XXXXX

Casey locked the MP5A2 back onto the gun rack. With the last gun on the rack clean, there was no point in stalling any longer. The only reason to stall at all was to make a point that Sarah couldn't push him around…much.

Sarah had really gone off on Casey last night. Yes, Casey shouldn't have tranq'ed Morgan three times. He had forgotten to account for Morgan's smaller body mass, but he still was certain Morgan should have been tranq'ed twice. Of course Sarah hadn't seen it that way. It was bad enough when she was always sticking up for Chuck. That protection seemed to have expanded to the best friend as well. Casey hoped not. Maybe Sarah was being protective this time because Chuck was so worried about him.

Yeah right.

This was all about Sarah's lady feelings again. Chuck still hadn't grown a pair and proposed. Now Casey was getting caught in the cross fire. Sarah had been this way a lot since Christmas. Not that Casey was scared of Sarah. Never. He had just learned over the last three and a half years when he could give her a hard time and when it was wisest to give her a wide berth. Last night, Sarah had that "don't mess with me" look of determination. Wide berth.

So instead of keeping Morgan sedated and locked up until Chuck figured out how to de-intersect him (or maybe waiting until Alex lost interest), Casey was going to be letting him go. Heaven help everyone in the Buy More when Morgan goes all Kung Fu.

When the Buy More cover is completely blown because of an inappropriate demonstration of Intersect skills, Casey just hoped they realized it was all Morgan's fault for not keeping his hands to himself. He just _had_ to touch the Intersect control panel, and before that he just had to touch…

No. Not going there.

This is the lovebirds' faults too. Casey used to think the unresolved sexual tension between Chuck and Sarah was detrimental to the team. When they finally got their act together, the team worked pretty well. They took down the Ring in no time flat. However with the proposal plan hanging overhead, it was almost like before. The sooner they got married, the better. Married couples didn't go all mushy on each other. With a quick marriage, maybe things would return to normal, and they could be an efficient spy team again. As a side benefit, wives usually direct their anger at their husbands, leaving Casey in the clear.

That would only leave the question about Morgan with the Intersect. Chuck wanted to remove it. Casey thought maybe that is not a good idea. The Magnet had a way of attracting trouble, so maybe the Intersect would help him protect himself. Yes, he'd be harder to train than Chuck. However Chuck spent almost two years trying to get rid of the first Intersect. Morgan was a willing volunteer like the Chuck 2.0. With no insane Shaw training plan and without an unnecessary Red Test (Casey and Sarah could handle the killing), Morgan could be properly trained up in a couple of months.

The training and subsequent missions would also keep Morgan away from Alex more.

Casey thumbed open the holding cell which contained Morgan. The saline drip connected to Morgan was part of his compromise with Sarah. Casey was "permitted" to hold off on the tranq countermeasure until this morning. It had been late, and no one wanted to deal with a hyped-up Morgan excited about the Intersect. However, the IV would help with the next day hangover.

Morgan had moved since Sarah had hooked him up last night. Maybe he was starting to come out of his almost coma. Was he faking it? As he opened the valve for the counter-agent already hung on the IV stand, Casey thought a friendly approach might cause Morgan to respond. He never could keep his mouth shut. "Rise and shine. We have a lot to do today. Dumb and Dumber have a shift at the Buy More today, and it's your job to watch them. Also, we need to start testing that new Intersect of yours. Let's just pretend our previous conversation didn't happen so we can get some work done today."

Morgan didn't respond. Casey noticed Morgan's eyes moving behind his closed lids. Just like a dream. _Or like a flash. Oh no!_

Suddenly, Morgan flipped up to his feet on the bed. Springing over Casey's outreaching hands, Morgan completed a flip with a half twist. A forceful kick into Casey's back sent him bouncing off the side of the bed and crashing to the floor with the IV stand. Morgan quickly backed through the cell door, punched in a code, and thumbed the lock.

"Morgan! When I get out of here—"

"Don't worry Casey. I just wanted to try this thing out, and let me just say. _WOW! _I'll let you out before your shift starts at ten. Until then, you have an hour to contemplate why it might not be a good idea to lock me up or use me as bait anymore." Morgan grinned and gave Casey a cheeky salute before turning down the hallway.

"Morgan!"

XXXXX

_**A few minutes later.**_

Morgan couldn't believe what he had just done. Chuck made the Intersect sound so cool, but this was so beyond what he had imagined. Now he would really be part of the team!

"Hey, Morgan. Glad to see you are up and about." Morgan jumped and spun around. Apparently, the Intersect did not include stealth detection as a skill.

"Oh. Hi, Sarah. You startled me. You really are sneaky."

Sarah shrugged. "Occupational hazard. I see Casey upheld his end of the deal and woke you up this morning. Have you seen Chuck yet?"

"Casey…what…uh…Chuck? No I haven't seen him. Casey just let me out." _Or he was going to, until I kicked his ass!_

"Morgan, what is it? Have you flashed already?"

Morgan wondered how Chuck ever expected to keep a proposal plan secret from this woman. "Yeah,

Sarah. I flashed on Casey." 

"Really? Chuck has only flashed on Casey twice: once for his old Coburn alias and once for Ilsa's love letters. He only flashed on me once for a ring I wore on a mission. What did you flash on?"

Morgan had to think fast so Sarah wouldn't find out what he had done to Casey. Maybe something Chuck told him would work. "Oh, nothing important. Some old mission reports from early last year. Casey really didn't think much of Shaw." Too late, Morgan realized that might not have been the best deflection approach for Sarah.

"I think Chuck, you, and I are the only non-military agents that Casey tolerates." Fortunately Sarah didn't want to continue this line of conversation. Bullet dodged. "I'm going to find Chuck. I'll let him know you are ok. We'll send for you when he is ready to run some tests. Please be careful around customers. We don't want you scaring them away with Chinese swear words or Tae Kwon Do." Sarah smiled, pivoted, and started down the hallway towards the Intersect room.

Morgan wondered at the tests, but at least with Chuck running them, they would not be as ridiculous as YouTube videos and buckets of water.

XXXXX

"Chuck, what are you wearing?"

Chuck turned from his crouched position by the Intersect stand towards Sarah who was leaning casually against the door frame. "If you were on the phone, that would have been really suggestive."

"Oh, so you would rather me leave and call you?" Sarah flirted back.

"Never."

"So what's with the goggles?"

"Ah. Yes. A few months ago I modified a heat vision pair with this side switch for normal shades with these mini LED flashlights around the rim. I know they look even goofier than before. But they are useful when I have my head stuck upside down through a floor panel while I inspect the wiring."

"What's wrong with the wiring? I thought you finished that yesterday before your test."

"I don't know for certain. I just have a suspicion."

Sarah frowned. "Well, I like seeing your eyes. They would tell me if you got any sleep last night."

"I didn't. I can't sleep. Did you know Morgan still hasn't woken up? He's in a coma and on an IV. I have to figure why he reacted so badly to the Intersect." Chuck had started gesticulating widely.

Sarah was surprised. "Casey didn't tell you? Oh I'm sorry, Chuck. Morgan is fine. In fact I saw him a minute ago and he is heading up to work. He woke up yesterday too. He just made the mistake of mentioning to Casey about his extra-curricular activities with Alex, and of course—"

Chuck let out a sign of relief. "Let me guess. Casey tranq'ed him."

"Three times."

"That explains it. I wish he told me last night. I would have gone home to get some sleep."

"You should sleep now. I'll set up a cot for you." Sarah started to turn to leave.

"No. Wait, Sarah." Chuck up and caught Sarah at the door. "I've had three red bulls. I'm not crashing for at least another four hours." Chuck tugged lightly on her arm. "I might not be able to sleep, but I could use a break. Come on in and sit with me."

"Ok, but lose the goggles."

"I need them to shield me from the beautiful glow of your eyes and the brilliance of your smile."

"Nice line."

"I thought so."

"Chuck."

"You don't think they are stylish?"

Sarah gave him her _I'm-not-going-to-humor-you-this-time_ look.

"Nope. They stay on. We'll see how good you are at reading my mind when you can't see my eyes."

Sarah over-exaggerated a pout, but joined Chuck on the floor, against the wall anyway. Chuck grasped her hand firmly and playfully bumped her outstretched foot with leg.

"So how was your first night home alone?" Chuck questioned casually.

"That was my first night? I hadn't realized." Sarah replied absently.

"Right. Of course not."

"Chuck, are you using the heat vision mode as a lie detector?"

"No. I just let you confirm your lie with your last question."

"Hmphh. Fine. Yes, I noticed. But no, it was no big deal," Sarah defended.

"If you say so. So what is bothering you then?"

"Who says something is bothering me?"

Chuck cocked his head. "I do."

"I was thinking about our personal-time agreement," Sarah mused.

"What is wrong with the Costa Gravas Accord? Are you trying to reduce Morgan's CoD time? If so, we probably need to include him in the discussion to ensure he honors any deal we make here."

Sarah smiled. "No, I was thinking about the other parts of the 'Accord'." Chuck pouted slightly. "No, I think you'll like this change. Instead of cuddling and quiet time every other night, I was thinking we could have your normal talkative cuddling one night and quiet cuddling the next. This is for off-duty time at home only, and exceptions would include injury recovery time."

Chuck sprung into a huge grin. "Missed some Chuck snuggle time last night, huh?"

"Of course," Sarah whispered, leaning into his shoulder and hanging on rather desperately.

"I like this new plan very much." Chuck kissed the top of her head. "However this still does not explain what is bothering you."

"Nothing is—"

"Sarah, you are cutting off the circulation to my right arm."

"Oh. Sorry." Sarah released Chuck's right side, but still held his hand loosely.

"And the problem?"

Sarah hesitated. She really didn't want to talk about this with Chuck. Maybe Chuck did. And maybe getting it out if the open would make it happen, thereby eliminating the problem. Sarah abruptly stood, releasing Chuck completely and went over to lock the door with her thumb scan. Sarah stared at Chuck a few seconds and then started pacing. Throughout this show, Chuck waited patiently while Sarah worked through the argument in her head. After couple back-and-forths, she stopped and faced Chuck again.

"Chuck, why aren't we engaged?" Chuck's jaw dropped. "I told you I want to marry you. I've seen the proposal plan, or the old draft, or whatever it was. You told me over a month ago you were working on another. But the holidays have passed, and you still haven't proposed. I know for a while it was your mom's fault for removing the Intersect. Then it was Morgan's fault for revealing the plan. Whose fault is it now? Do I need to eliminate someone? You know I don't expect you to ask my dad's permission, right? Oh God, I'm pathetic. Do you even still want to marry me?"

Chuck recovered from his shock and smiled. Standing up, he pulled Sarah into his arms, hugging her tightly. "Of course I still want to marry you."

Sarah responded into Chuck's shoulder. "You want to marry me. I want to marry you. That sounds like we are engaged to me."

"One problem. I haven't proposed, and you haven't accepted said proposal."

"Semantics."

"An important one. To answer your other questions… It is no one's fault. Although Ellie might just go into premature labor from the excitement. That's not an obstacle, though, because I know we both could keep a secret. No, I'm not trying to find your dad for the proposal. He told me to watch out for you, and that is good enough for me. Maybe we could find him for the wedding, though. Finally, I didn't use the holidays because that would not be much of a surprise."

"Not getting a ring for Christmas was a surprise."

"See, I told you all kinds of surprises are coming your way. Consider that the first."

Sarah groaned as Chuck lightly rubbed her back.

"I don't need a fancy proposal. I just don't like this limbo."

"Of course you need a fancy proposal. The Bartowski proposal bar is really, really high. Look at the story behind Ellie's proposal."

"They don't even know that story. The details are classified."

"It's still a great story. Maybe we can tell them in thirty years. And you deserve something even better. I do plan on leaving out the pita girl and the dumpster. I'm making no promises about the fish."

"I've already checked. No ring in the Morgan's little fish plaque. You better not plan a wedding to top Ellie's first ceremony." They both laughed.

"So I'm guessing this was all brought on because you couldn't find the ring at home last night."

Sarah pulled back and looked at Chuck. "You're kidding, right? I've been sweeping our place once a week since Thanksgiving. I swept the Woodcomb's at Christmas and Casey's at New Year's. I'll be rechecking them soon."

Chuck smirked. "Then I'm sure you know there has not been any unusual bank or credit card activity on my accounts recently. Hmmm, sounds like there is no ring to me."

Sarah thumped Chuck's shoulder. "Are you trying to drive me nuts?"

"You're the one that wanted small and slow steps."

Sarah blinked seductively. "Fine. I'm going to have to find ways to incentivize you." She pecked Chuck on the lips.

"Sarah, the camera. This is not as private as the storage closet."

"I turned off the camera on my way here."

"No camera and a locked door. See, you even set the standard for planning really high."

Sarah silenced Chuck with a long, soft kiss. Her lips trailed away, and she whispered into Chuck's ear, "I think we need to work off some of that Red Bull energy so you can get some sleep."

Chuck pulled Sarah into much more passionate kiss and slowly backed her again the wall. Sarah started pulling at buttons on Chuck's shirt while never breaking free of their mutual attack on each other's lips.

Just as Sarah pulled loose his tie, she was distracted by a high-pitched whirl from behind Chuck. Looking around him as he worked his kisses down her neck, Sarah tried to figure out what was going on. It was just difficult to concentrate when Chuck was doing…that… to the spot behind her ear.

"Chuck, I think something is wrong."

"Huh? What?"

"Chuck, the Intersect computer, it's—"

Suddenly the screen wall flashed with a continuous stream of images.

XXXXXXXX

A/N: Coming next… Chapter 3 – Ellie and Awesome vs. the Intersect

(No, it can't be that! Can it?)


	3. Ellie and Awesome vs the Intersect

_Published 2 Jan 2011_

XXXXXXXX

_**Here're a few things you should know, in case you forgot.**_

_Suddenly, Morgan flipped up to his feet on the bed. Springing over Casey's outreaching hands, Morgan completed a flip with a half twist. A forceful kick into Casey's back sent him bouncing off the side of the bed and crashing to the floor with the IV stand. Morgan quickly backed through the cell door and punched in a code, and thumbed the lock._

_-X-_

"_Chuck, why aren't we engaged?"_

_-X-_

"_Chuck, I think something is wrong."_

"_Huh? What?"_

"_Chuck, the Intersect computer, its—"_

Suddenly the screen wall flashed with a continuous stream of images.

XXXXXXXX

**Chapter 3 – Ellie and Awesome vs. the Intersect  
The Burbank Buy More**

XXXXXXXX

_**Early afternoon.**_

Ellie marched through the entrance of the Buy More. Ok, "marched" might not be the right term, but no one taking a look at the angry and determined look on her face would ever say she had just waddled in.

A quick glare at the Nerd Herd station showed Chuck was not there. No surprise for her there. Admittedly, he could be in the cage, the break room, Morgan's office, or even the restroom. However, Ellie knew the truth. Chuck was not in the Buy More. A scan of the store did not reveal John Casey either. While he could be sneaky, she didn't expect to see him either. After her reconnaissance of the parking lot, she knew Chuck, John, and Sarah were all nearby. She just didn't expect them in the store.

At present, Ellie was regretting her promise to Devon. She promised to remain just inside the doorway while he parked the car. She supposed that was for the best. She really shouldn't be traipsing around an electronics superstore in her condition. Adjusting the rectangular metal box in her grip, Ellie reflected on how she got here.

XXXXXXXX

_**Echo Park  
Thirty minutes earlier.**_

Ellie knew she was supposed to be resting on the couch. But Honey Woodcomb was coming in a few weeks, and there was no way she was finding anything to clean in the kitchen this time.

Glancing through the window, she saw her husband walking through the courtyard. His double shift was finally over. He must be really out of it, going over to their old apartment. Ellie knocked on the window, but Devon didn't hear. Quickly scooting over to the door, she opened it just in time to see Devon stop fumbling with his keys and unlock the door.

"Hey, husband! I hope you remember we live over here now."

Devon visibly jumped and dropped the keys he was holding. "Hi... Ellie… I know. Chuck asked me to pick up something after my shift and take it to the Buy More for him. I should be back and ready to crash in about an hour."

Devon was flustered, so Ellie was suspicious. "What did he forget?"

Before he could stop himself, "His watch."

"Dad's old watch? He never goes anywhere without it. I'm surprised he forgot it."

"Yeah? He really wears it all the time? I hadn't noticed. Maybe Sarah distracted him this morning."

"Ewww and no. She left really early this morning, and Chuck was already gone. Chuck must have left even earlier." Only on maternity leave a week, Ellie really was becoming the complex busy body.

"Maybe he had a lot of work to catch up on."

"Probably, I bet he couldn't find the watch. I'll help look."

"No that's ok. I got it." Devon quickly disappeared inside.

Ellie was barely in the apartment herself when Devon was coming back to the front door.

She blocked his escape. "Stop. What's that?"

"This? This is Chuck's watch case."

"That is not a watch case."

"Sure it is." Devon quickly opened the latch and flipped open the rectangular silver case. "See. Watches."

Something didn't sit right with Ellie. "That is two watches. Why does Chuck need both?"

"I don't know. He just asked me to bring the case." Devon was flustered again.

"There is an empty spot, too."

"Maybe he broke the first one?"

Ellie ignored the obvious cover story. "And since when did Dad give him _three_ watches."

"Uhhh..." Devon. Deer. Headlights.

Ellie clasped Devon on the shoulders. "Spill it. Is Chuck spying again?"

XXXXXXXX

_**Burbank Buy More  
Early afternoon.**_

Devon had cracked like a Gallagher watermelon—all over the place. Of course he knew even less this time, so it wasn't that helpful. Chuck had said he was spying again. Her mom's "handler" was really some kind of bad guy. And Devon had handed her Dad's laptop over to Chuck.

Ellie thought she figured out the rest. Casey was working at the Buy More as a cover. With Chuck and Morgan working there, their base of operations must be very nearby. In fact those oddly over-competent workers she saw when she returned the extra baby monitors must somehow be involved. Seeing Sarah's Porsche in the Buy More parking lot confirmed her suspicions. Devon said the old base was under the Orange Orange and Buy More. The new one must be the same.

"Elizabeth. How can we service you this fine day?"

Ellie rolled her eyes and turned to see where Lester and Jeff had slithered over. Lester was fluffing his mop hair while Jeff's was blatantly staring at what Ellie's pregnancy had done to her chest.

"Have either of you seen Chuck?"

"I think he went on an early service call. Didn't he, Jeff?"

Jeff was too busy staring to respond.

"What about Casey?"

"He's probably hitting the good stuff. He'll be gone for hours until we get a call to pick him up at some dumpster."

"Ok." Why Casey would think public indecency and drunkenness was a good cover, Ellie had no idea. "Have you seen Sarah then?"

"Who?"

"Sarah Walker?"

Lester scratched his head. Jeff continued his staring, but was licking his lips now.

"Chuck's girlfriend."

"Oh! You mean Super Hot Blondie. She was around before we opened, but is gone now. Sometimes she hangs out in the home theatre room or the break room. Personally, I think Morgan has been irresponsible in his managerial duties by letting a _civilian_ have free roam–"

Ellie was ready for this useless conversation to be over. "Fine. I assume Morgan is in his office?"

Fortunately, Big Mike walked up. "Shoo, you losers. Shoo. Ellie! May I say you are just positively glowing? There is nothing like a beautiful pregnant woman."

_What a crock_, Ellie thought. Sometimes, Big Mike could be almost as creepy as Jeff and Lester, but at least he was polite about it and kept his eyes in a respectful place—most of the time.

"Morgan was here catching up this morning, but he asked me to hold down the fort for the next hour or so. Now if you will excuse me, he left a toasty foot of sandwichy goodness in his office for me. I am duty bound to get there before it cools." With that cheery comment, Big Mike pivoted and strolled towards the manager's office, leaving Ellie alone, still waiting for Devon.

Ellie repeated her previous scan of the store and spotted what, or rather who, she was looking for: a woman who looked like she should be holding a suitcase in a Howie Mandel game show. As a small smirk crossed her lips, her husband finally joined her.

"Sorry, babe. I got stuck behind one of those parking lot idiots who blocks everyone while waiting for someone to load, start, and back out there car, even though a half dozen other spots are open. Have you found Chuck, yet?"

"No. Chuck, Casey, Morgan, and Sarah are nowhere to be found. However, I think I found our target." Ellie started off with a determined... waddle. Bypassing an ear-budded Skip at the front of the Nerd Herd desk, she timed her walk perfectly to cut off the other nerd herder crossing on the far side of the desk.

"Excuse me, Ma'am. Can I get someone to help you?"

"_Get someone?_ Not fully qualified for your cover assignment?" Ellie smiled sweetly, "Greta?"

"Greta? I thought Greta was a tall, fresh-smelling, African American gentleman with a winning smile." Devon had not caught with Ellie's reasoning.

"So this is not the first 'Greta', Devon? Thanks for confirming I picked out the agent." Greta's eyes visibly widened. "Oops. Cover blown by the pregnant lady. Don't worry. I'm here to deliver a package to Chuck. Or what was that name, Devon? I remember. Agent Carmichael."

Greta appeared to have recovered. "I'm sorry. I do not know this Agent Carmichael. Is that a video game character? Although, Chuck Bartowski is the Nerd Herd supervisor. If your package is for him, I will make certain he receives it when he returns from his install."

"You can drop the act, Agent Greta. No one who looks like you would work at Weinerlicious, Orange Orange, or Buy More. The first two never made sense for Agent Walker either, but I try not to judge. I'm Chuck's sister. If you've seen anything from that file I assume you government types have on me, you know I'm not about to be fooled again by anyone who I don't know. For all I know you might be working part time for some rogue branch of the government and would lose the package. If Chuck is not available, you can take me to Colonel Carter or Agent Walker. I assume they are in 'Castle' with Chuck and Morgan."

Greta sighed. "I'm sorry Dr. Bartowski-Woodcomb. I had not been notified that you had been read in on our operation. However, you are not authorized for admittance to Castle."

"I think the fact that Chuck called us and said the delivery of this package was urgent is all of the authorization we need."

Greta fixed her jaw and thought for a second. Ellie could tell her argument was starting to win. "Ok. Give me a minute. I should confirm with Colonel Casey. He's in charge of security–"

"We don't have time for this. Maybe you heard about that whole Ring situation last year… the little coup that was stopped by Agent Carmichael, Agent Walker, and Colonel Casey. Those people were only free to stop the coup because I tracked them and because my husband shot a missile to free them. I think maybe you should let us into Castle now before Chuck wonders where his package is. Maybe you should guide us to the home theatre entrance that Agent Walker uses."

Greta paused, assessing the couple for a few seconds. Even Devon was impressed by his wife's firm stance and strong arming of a CIA agent. Finally, "Ok. However, I cannot take you downstairs myself. I am required to maintain the Buy More perimeter for now."

Greta stalked off in her spike heels to the home theatre room, Ellie and Devon in step behind. Once inside, Greta pulled out her iPhone and punched a code closing the curtain. Sliding a wall panel she opened the elevator door. Devon looked surprised by all of this, but Ellie was unfazed. She thought Greta mumbled something about tight-knit team and not being in the loop.

After a few more presses on the wall panel, Greta turned with a pleasant, but obviously fake, smile. "I've programmed the elevator to let you off at the bottom. I've disabled the hand-print security for the next five minutes, so you can get up and out if you go into premature labor. Please don't. My last experience with a delivery was in an insurgent camp in Nicaragua, and I don't need to relive the experience. When you get to the lower level, the wall panels will light up and guide you to the room in which Agent Carmichael has been working on his latest project. Don't ask. I don't have clearance to know. Just knock on the door for room 42, when you get there. Have one of the agents escort you out. Colonel Casey and Agent Grimes are supposed to be duty on the floor most of the afternoon, so one of them should be able to return with you soon. I'll keep this room secure until you return. Please don't take too long as I don't want the customers to get suspicious."

"Uh, thank you, Agent Greta. Your cover may need some work, but you are definitely… thorough. Come on, dear. We have a package to deliver." Even Ellie couldn't believe she pulled off breaking into a CIA base.

XXXXXXXX

Lester and Jeff peaked up from behind MP3 accessories aisle to see the newest Greta leave the home theatre room alone.

"Lester, it looks like the doctors are getting a little freaky, pregnancy style."

"What does that even mean?"

"I think it means we need to check the security feed for the home theatre room."

"Good call. Follow me."

Fortunately, the ever-efficient Greta had disabled the security feed.

XXXXXXXX

_**Castle Conference Room**_

Chuck and Sarah sat at the middle of the conference table, her left hand in his right. Morgan nervously tapped away on the table from his spot on the far right.

Chuck gave Sarah a squeeze. "Sarah, I just wanted you to know... even though you've downloaded an Intersect, I still want to marry you."

"That's sweet to say, Chuck. You want to know how you can prove it?" Sarah deadpanned. "Go ahead and propose to me already!"

Morgan abruptly stopped. After a couple seconds, Sarah grinned.

"I'm going to. However, it's going to be even harder to surprise you, now that you are a superspy _and _have an Intersect."

"Nice try. It's not like the Intersect has your latest proposal plan, super hearing, or even super ring finding skills."

"I don't know. It is the _Ring_'s Intersect," Chuck quipped.

Sarah turned to Morgan, "Where's the ring?"

"Sorry, Sarah. As scared of you as I always am when you want me to be, Chuck won't trust me with that one. Something about being on my sixth strike."

"You've actually betrayed Chuck five times? You're going to be easier to crack than I thought."

"Seriously, I know nothing."

"That's right, Sarah. He knows nothing, except to recite his various acts of betrayal on command. Right, Morgan? Like now, Morgan."

"Fine. First time was because of the shock of finding out about Jill. I let Emmett hear me."

"Chuck, was that during the mission or after?"

"During."

"Ok, that was a security problem. However, I would have totally backed you, Morgan, if it had been after. Let me guess, two of them are the proposal plan and the Intersect dreams. Chuck, you have to forgive him for those. Morgan was telling me. He didn't have a chance."

"It's not the individual times; it's the aggregate of all of them. Morgan, continue."

"Chuck! Not the other two."

"She knows about one of them already."

"Right. Your European vacation. Although in my defense, you should have updated your Facebook status so I would have known not to help Casey."

"Facebook updates are unsecured and can be traced."

"They already knew you were in Paris. You could have updated from the hotel. Which reminds me… we need some sort of secret twin code so we can pass private messages through Facebook."

"You're stalling, Morgan."

"Please, Chuck. Don't make me do it. She's scary enough after Thailand. Now she's all Intersected, and I'm certain her Intersect is bigger than mine. And you even gave her your watch."

Sarah was amused at the byplay. "Come on Morgan, it can't be that bad."

"I am _not_ telling."

"Fine, _I'll_ tell Sarah. It has to do with our first trip to Barstow–"

"Really? That was so long ago, it's no big deal. Did Morgan accidently send Fulcrum or Casey after us?"

"Neither. Do you remember our other problem?"

"What? Running out of bullets in my standoff with Casey?"

"No, before that."

"Huh? OH!"

"Morgan left an IOU in my wallet."

"THAT WAS YOU!"

Morgan dove under the table. "Chuck, please help me!"

Chuck and Sarah were both in laughing hysterics. Sarah managed to control herself first. "Get up, Morgan. You're safe. Chuck told me on the train in Europe–before you found us and reported us to Casey."

"He really is a cock blocker sometimes." Chuck looked under the table. "Get up, buddy. You're forgiven for all of them. Hopefully you've learned your lesson and don't need dry pants. Next time think before revealing my new proposal plans." Chuck pulled out and turned to Sarah. "Sarah, he really doesn't know where the ring is. Also, he's only serving as a sounding board for the new plans, but he doesn't know which parts I'm using and which parts I'm throwing out." Chuck lightly kissed the ring finger on Sarah's left hand when he was interrupted.

"Eh hem!"

All three of them frozen and slowing turned to the central monitor.

Sarah spoke first. "General! Uh, how long have you been–"

"Long enough to see one of my new Intersects diving for cover." At least she didn't comment about the proposal plan or the IOU.

"Sorry, General, Ma'am." Morgan was relieved his beard would cover most of the blush.

"That was understandable, Grimes. I've read several of foreign reports from allies about the new rouge militant threat in the jungles Thailand. I strongly recommend you find other procurement avenues in the future." And there was the IOU comment.

"Yes, Ma'am."

Sarah and Chuck looked at each other, with a mix of strong embarrassment and shock in hearing an actual joke from the General. At least it could have been a joke.

"Where is Colonel Casey?" The General was back to business.

Sarah replied, "He is securing the Intersect room. He should've been here by now."

"Fine. You can brief him later as this is basically a status report for me. What is the project status, Agent Bartowski?"

Chuck cleared his throat. "We originally thought Morgan had activated a download, and through a tranq mishap, kept him sedated overnight. It turns out the download was by accident. I have determined that the Ring's Intersect has gone into a feedback loop, periodically dumping its database on the screens at random intervals."

"I assume this is how Agent Walker downloaded as well."

"Yes, General. I was in the room during her download, but was wearing protective glasses at the time. We had no idea what was coming until it was too late."

"Is there any way to shut it down?"

"Sure, I could simply cut power to the room and force a reboot. However, I would like to run a diagnostic while the computer is in this state before I reboot. Then I can compare with a post-restart diagnostic. I was planning on running the diagnostics after this meeting."

"I see. So how are the new Intersects functioning? Have you begun any tests?"

"Morgan was able to elude Casey and escape a holding cell." Beckman was impressed and smiled slightly. "Albeit, that test was not scientific as Casey was releasing Morgan anyway."

Morgan cut in, "Yeah, but he wasn't planning on getting trapped in the cell himself. I totally kicked his–"

"The point is all we have confirmed is that Morgan has flashed once on Intersect 2.0-type skills," Chuck stated.

"When do you plan on running further tests?" Beckman asked.

"Casey will be overseeing tests with Morgan and Sarah that I have provided, while I work on the computer. First, we are waiting for my back-up governors to arrive. I'm concerned that the Ring Intersect's high image download speed might increase the rate of brain deterioration. It would explain why the Ring was so desperate to get my dad's governor."

"That would be interesting information to learn."

"While that might be, General, I'm not running brain heat tests on my best friend, my girlfriend–"

Sarah quietly mumbled under her breath, "almost fiancée."

"–or anyone else. Besides, I also have a theory that my sister's work with my dad's laptop may have solved the brain/heat problem. I plan on running those tests myself at a later date. If my theory holds _and_ if I can get the Ring's computer working properly, I may be able to incorporate the necessary adjustments into their design. Please keep in mind, there are many conditionals in that plan, and many other things I need to figure out before we get there, such as fixing this endless loop bug."

"I understand. I was impressed with your original written plan and look forward your updates based on these recent developments. They seem more thought out that what some of our other Intersect scientists have proposed. Let me say, Agent Bartowski, you are proving to be a valuable agency scientist as well as an agent. Fortunately, we may soon have two more Intersects we can deploy to lighten your load some."

Sarah beamed with pride for her boyfriend, almost fiancé. Meanwhile, Chuck frowned. It seemed like the last few months had been filled with too many, albeit legitimate, excuses that resulted in Sarah and he going on different missions, half way around the world from each other. First, there was still another issue. "General, I was wondering if you reviewed my request to give my sister clearance about the Intersect. It would help to know exactly what she did on my dad's laptop. Of course this would be after the baby is born."

"That's no longer an issue." Everyone at the table turned to see Casey pushing a wheelchair containing a dazed Ellie, with a groggy Captain Awesome stumbling behind. "The informing is not an issue I mean. The baby is still in the oven."

Chuck jumped to his feet. "Oh my God! Ellie, Sis, what are you doing here? What happened? Are you ok?"

Casey ignored the questions and addressed the General. "Ma'am, I believe this was a status meeting, and the status has obviously changed. While the situation is dynamic, it is not an emergency. I recommend you give us an hour to build a comprehensive understanding and to sort out the lady feelings here. We can give you a sit rep later this afternoon, at your convenience."

"I see that, Colonel. Fine. We'll reconvene at 1500." The screen went blank.

Casey pushed the wheelchair up to the conference table, while Awesome collapsed in Chuck's seat, not looking very awesome.

"Casey, what the hell is going on?"

Casey grunted. "Don't get your panties in a bunch. Here's what I know. Your sister caught frat boy getting the backup governors, and he spilled the beans. Somehow, she talked her way past the new Greta and managed to get to the Intersect room. The two of them looked through the window right as another Intersect image cycle started. I walked up just in time to catch Ellie at the end of the download. They can fill you in on the rest. Now if you excuse me, I have a couple people to chew out, including Greta and the acquisitions officer in charge of that windowless door we ordered. Also, I still have to lock down that damn room. Oh yeah, here's your watch case." Casey tossed the case on the table, turned and left.

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A/N: Coming next… Chapter 4 – Casey vs. the Intersect

(Team Chuck's fat kid gets a chance and the Ellie fallout)


	4. Casey vs the Intersect

_Published: 12 Jan 2011_

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_**Here're a few things you should know, in case you forgot.**_

_Ellie clasped Devon on the shoulders. "Spill it. Is Chuck spying again?"_

_-X-_

_"So this is not the first 'Greta', Devon? Thanks for confirming I picked out the agent." Greta's eyes visibly widened. "Oops. Cover blown by the pregnant lady. Don't worry. I'm here to deliver a package to Chuck. Or what was that name, Devon? I remember. Agent Carmichael."_

_-X-_

_"... I have determined that the Ring's Intersect has gone into a feedback loop, periodically dumping its database on the screens at random intervals."_

_-X-_

_"... Your sister caught frat boy getting the backup governors, and he spilled the beans. Somehow, she talked her way past the new Greta and managed to get to the Intersect room. The two of them looked through the window right as another Intersect image cycle started. I walked up just in time to catch Ellie at the end of the download."_

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**Chapter 4 – 5**  
**The Burbank Buy More**

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"Chuck, what the hell is going on?"

Chuck moved quickly. He flipped open the case and pulled out both watches. The first went immediately around the wrist of his pissed off sister. The second was passed to his groggy bro-in-law who was still rubbing is hand over his eyes trying to shake off the download.

"It'll be ok Ellie. I promise I'll fix this, and I promise I'll explain everything," Chuck hastily replied. "Unfortunately, I have to do something first."

"Chuck!"

"Ellie, I have to get this process started right now. It's going to take a few hours once I start it. It has to be done before I can fix what happened. You'll be just fine. Sarah will keep an eye on you."

"Chuck!"

Chuck focused on Sarah. A silent conversation seemed to pass between them. After a moment, Chuck turned back to his sister. "Please, Ellie. I'll be back as soon as I can." With that, he raced off.

Without Chuck as a target, Ellie focused her angered confusion on Sarah. "Sarah, what's going on?"

Sarah tried to remain as calm as she could. "Ellie, are you feeling ok? Can I get you something? A water?"

"Sarah."

"Ellie, Chuck asked me to wait, but I'll tell you part of it in a minute. I'm going to get you a water, and I'll be right back."

Sarah stood and gave Morgan a glare. He visibly reacted with a wide-eyed look and then slowly nodded. With that confirmation of understanding, Sarah hurried out of the conference room.

Morgan became Ellie's next target. "Morgan!"

"Listen, Ellie. I'd love to tell you everything. But Sarah told me to wait, and she scares me sometimes."

"I'm right here, so I know she told you no such thing. Chuck didn't say to wait either. I just want to know what's going on!"

"Please calm down and breathe slowly." Morgan started to reach to pat Ellie on the arm, but wisely chose to respect the no touching policy that was established long ago.

Sarah called from the other room, "Morgan! I could use a hand!" Morgan jumped up and scampered out of the room to help.

With no one left to me mad at, Ellie sat there bewildered. She couldn't believe everyone had just left her and her husband, by themselves, in the middle of what appeared to be some sort of CIA command center. So far, she wasn't that impressed with the security. Meanwhile, she noticed her husband was not doing awesome. His grogginess had been replaced with a wild, worried expression of panic.

"Devon, are you ok?" Devon didn't seem to hear her.

Just then, Sarah and Morgan reentered the room. Morgan handed Ellie a water bottle and placed a small plate of crackers in front of her. Sarah wheel an IV stand over to Devon and set up a line.

"Sarah, what are you doing?"

"I'm giving him a sedative. He's not handling this as well as the rest of us."

"So you're drugging him?"

"I'm keeping him calm until Chuck fixes this. It's also good for the cover," Sarah added casually. "Morgan?"

"Right. On it." Morgan step over to a keyboard and started working away.

Meanwhile, Sarah pulled out her phone and dialed. With a distinctively Southern Californian accent, "_Hi there. This is Betsy over at County General. We had a Dr. Devon Woodcomb over here after a fender bender. ... He's all right, but one of the EMTs have him a mild narcotic so Dr. Woodcomb's surgeries for the next few days will need to be reassigned or rescheduled. ... No, he's been released into the care of his wife, a Dr. Bartowski-Woodcomb. ... No, I didn't know she was that pregnant. ... I just heard one of my office mates talking about the doctor that was not to be messed with. ... Thanks for passing along the message, and you have a great day._"

Sarah hung up the phone and turned to Morgan, returning to her normal accent. "Are you done, yet?"

"Just about. I'm not as fast at this as Chuck is... ok... there. The false medical report has been added to the database at County General. We better have Chuck deal with the billing and insurance stuff later."

"That's fine. If we do it now, it might look suspicious. The insurance company is not that efficient. Thank you, Morgan." Sarah returned to the table and pulled up her chair next to Ellie. "Ok, now we can talk."

"It's about time!"

Sarah was calm and serious. "First, I can't explain much about what happened to you. I don't know all of the details, yet. Chuck will be able to tell you more when he gets back. I promise you that you are going to be ok, though. The same thing happened to Morgan yesterday and to me this morning. Plus it has happened to Chuck six or seven times over the last three—no—twenty years."

Ellie tried to calm herself, but the confusion remained. "What?"

"What I can tell you is it has to do with your dad's research, with why Chuck is a spy, and with a bunch of other things that Chuck should tell you himself. However, I can hopefully answer some of your questions."

"Is Chuck still is a spy? Or is he working as a computer repairman for the CIA?"

"The computer job is just over the last month. He overhauled our electronic security after breach around Thanksgiving. Lately, he has been working as lead researcher for analyzing the Ring's Intersect computer. Again, he'll have to explain what that means. It involves a lot of technical information. To be honest, I only understand half of it, but I let him ramble because he's so cute when he gets going. You'll probably understand more."

"I don't know anything about this Intersect computer."

"Some of it is related to the work you did on your dad's laptop."

"That was related to storing information in the brain. Is that what happened to us?"

"Yes. As I said, Chuck will have to explain more. He'll explain the watches, too."

Ellie realized she wasn't going to get anywhere along that line of questions. "Fine. Back to this spy thing. Chuck promised–"

Sarah interrupted, "It's not his fault."

"Who's fault is it? Yours?" Ellie had been concerned that Sarah was still a spy and somehow that would bring Chuck back into that world. Lately, their mom also seemed to be a potential temptation to that life she didn't want for Chuck.

Sarah grimaced. "I told Chuck he didn't have to come back. As much as I love working with him, I'm more worried about his safety than you will ever be."

Ellie knew Sarah was good at hiding the truth, but that seemed genuine. "So what happened?"

"We had several things working against us. First, your dad left Chuck a private mission to find your mom. Chuck didn't even tell me about that one for several months. While Casey and I were hunting a high tech arms dealer around the world, Chuck and Morgan were doing the same to find her. Fortunately for Casey and me, Chuck and Morgan arrived at a facility in Moscow where we were held captive. He rescued us."

That story seemed less believable. But why would Sarah make up an unbelievable story? "That's why he is back?"

"No. He was actually recruited by General Beckman the week before."

"That's the lady on the screen earlier. She was in that meeting Chuck busted into last year."

"Yes, she's our boss. She changed her mind and decided she wasn't going to let Chuck go. So she blackballed him."

"She can do that?"

"She's a high ranking General in the NSA. She can."

"How?"

"I think Chuck said she used threatening calls to the interviewers and even food poisoning."

Ellie nodded in understanding. "So that is why Chuck's interviews all went bust. I thought it was the bad economy."

"Beckman never gave him a chance." Sarah sighed. "I was upset at first, but now I agree that he belongs here, working on this team. It's what he was meant to do."

Ellie frowned, "Sarah, I can't protect him if he is a spy."

"Ellie, you did an unbelievably great job raising Chuck to become the wonderful man he is. However, spy or not, you can't protect him anymore. The truth is, you don't have to. Chuck can protect himself. You saw that in Costa Gravis. When that doesn't work, Casey, Morgan, and I can protect him."

"Morgan? Seriously?" Ellie looked unbelievably at Morgan, who had uncharacteristically remained quiet throughout this conversation.

Sarah pulled back here attention. "Seriously. A few months ago, Chuck and I were captured by a mercenary group of Casey's ex-teammates and were taken to Iran as blackmail against Casey. During the rescue attempt, he was captured too. It was Morgan that rescued us all. A month and a half ago, Morgan walked into an enemy camp unarmed, providing Casey and me the diversion necessary to rescue Chuck."

"Sarah, you are not exactly reassuring me with stories of Chuck getting captured."

"First, these are stories of Chuck getting rescued. Most spies have no more than one or two stories of getting rescued. Instead, they are simply tortured and killed. Chuck is special, they won't kill him. He is too valuable alive."

"I don't understand."

"When Chuck was captured this last time, his captors released feelers on the black market. The starting bids were more than the going rate for two suitcase nukes."

"Oh my... Why?"

"That has to do with the Intersect and the research he is working on. Ellie, I know this sounds scary, but I'm not trying to scare you. Chuck is the most important thing to me in the entire universe. I will always do everything in my power to protect him."

Morgan broke his silence. "Trust her, Ellie. I've seen her in action. When she _says_ everything in her power, bad guys go running for the hills."

Sarah was trying to hold Ellie's focus and was annoyed by the interruption. "Not now, Morgan."

"No, Sarah. Ellie needs to hear this. The last time Chuck was captured, Sarah went all Beatrix Kiddo. You know, from Kill Bill. You are sitting next to the no rules, pit fighting champion of Thailand. By the time she found Chuck, half of Thailand was running from her like frightened kids–literally. And that was before Casey and I showed up with the heavy artillery."

"Sarah, I don't know what to think of all of this. This doesn't sound like something my brother would be a part of."

Sarah loosely grasped Ellie's hands in her own. "Ellie, your brother is still the kindest, sweetest, funniest, most forgiving man I know. He is the only man that I have ever loved. He rarely uses a real gun, preferring tranquilizers. He still has not killed anyone, and I know for a fact he would only do so to save someone he cares about. He's also really good at being a spy. Part of the reason he is so good at it is because he really wants to help people. He also looks at things a different way than the rest of us. A better way. During the Costa Gravis coup, if we didn't have to extract you and Devon, we probably could have stopped it right there. Instead, we returned a couple days later to disarm Costa Gravis' nuclear capabilities. Casey's solution was C-4 and a possible suicide mission. Instead, Chuck ended the coup and earned us access to dismantle the facilities. He did it with some impromptu marriage counseling. No one else could have done something like that. Since I have met him, Chuck has saved literally millions of lives."

Ellie had never heard such a long speech from Sarah. She seemed to beam with so much pride for Chuck, it had to be true. However, Ellie was still concerned. "So Chuck is a spy, and there is nothing I can do about it."

"It's what he was meant to do."

Ellie was still upset. This would take some getting used to. "So now what?"

"Now we wait for Chuck. Morgan, maybe you should check on the store."

"Right, I'll make sure Casey hasn't killed Greta, and I'll let Big Mike know I'm stuck on teleconferences with 'corporate.' Bye, Sarah. Bye, Ellie." Morgan hurried up the stairs.

Ellie smiled at Sarah, a little mischievously, "Ok. You've explained why you think Chuck needs to be a spy. I might not like it, but I understand. And we have to wait for Chuck to talk about this Intersect thing. So now you can tell me what's going on with you and Chuck and your relationship?"

XXXXXXXX

_**A little while later.**_

Jeff and Lester hurried up to the home theatre room's door and found it once again locked. Less than a minute before, Morgan had returned inside. As far as they knew, Chuck's sister and Devon had not exited. Of course they might have missed something when Fernando came over with the status report about the latest 'Greta'. Now Morgan was leaving and entering the home theatre room in a mysterious fashion. And the security camera to the room was still out.

Something was going on in there.

XXXXXXXX

Morgan descended to Castle, contemplating his conversation with the new Greta. She was a 'typical' CIA knockout. If Morgan was not as happy as he was with Alex... No, he was not going there. The issue with this Greta was she seemed very efficient, but very naïve. That meant something. Although what it meant exactly, Morgan was not sure.

The good news was he was able to warn her about Casey before Casey got her reassigned or fired. She was still at risk, but maybe Casey would calm down before he found her. Yeah right. She'd need to go into WitSec for a week to pull that off.

Speaking of which, why hadn't Casey found her yet?

XXXXXXXX

_**A little while earlier.**_

Casey was fed up with being left out. He was not going to be the odd man out of this new Team Intersect. That left one way to handle this. Hopefully he had enough time before Chuck started his diagnostic.

Just then, the Ring's Intersect computer started to whirl and images flooded the screens.

Moments later, Casey roused from his position on the floor.

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A/N: Coming next… Chapter 5 – Team Intersect vs. the Mission

Somehow I backed myself into big reveal land. That's what I get for saying in Chuck vs. the Whole Truth that Ellie and Awesome should know everything. Sorry, there's a little more of it next chapter.


	5. Team Intersect vs the Mission

_Published 14 Jan 2011_

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_**Here're a few things you should know, in case you forgot.**_

_Ellie smiled at Sarah, a little mischievously. "Ok. You've explained why you think Chuck needs to be a spy. I might not like it, but I understand. And we have to wait for Chuck to talk about this Intersect thing. So now you can tell me what's going on with you and Chuck and your relationship?"_

_-X-_

_Casey was fed up with being left out. He was not going to be the odd man out of this new Team Intersect. That left one way to handle this. _

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**Chapter 5 – Team Intersect vs. the Mission**  
**Castle**

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Chuck strolled into the Castle conference room, with an over-exaggerated tone in his voice. "Whew! That's done. So how are my two favorite gals doing?" Chuck gave Ellie a comforting pat on the shoulder while smiling at Sarah. "I assume you started explaining everything to her, even though I asked you to wait."

Sarah rolled her eyes and replied, "Like you ever stayed in the car. We've been going over recent history. I figured that was safe and would avoid potential flashes."

"I guess that is fine. So, Ellie, am I forgiven yet?" Chuck questioned with a big smile as he took an empty seat at the table. "I am truly sorry. I just was looking out for your stress levels, with the baby on the way. We all can see how well that turned out."

"You're on probation, brother, pending answers to two things." Ellie was in non-nonsense mode, which made...sense.

"Ok." Chuck replied tentatively.

"First, what is this Intersect thing and what did it do to us?"

"That is going to take a while."

"That's what Sarah said."

"I promise I'll explain it all, but we have Beckman's call coming in a few minutes. You should know I was hoping to pull you into the Intersect project after the baby was born. I submitted the paperwork before all of this happened."

"Maybe you could give me the highlights."

Chuck inhaled. "Ok. He it goes. The government would say that after 9/11 the NSA and CIA pooled their resources into building a new computer that could combine their intelligence looking for patterns. This computer was called the Intersect. Over course building something like that takes years of research. What they are hesitant to admit is some of the researchers had some very cutting edge ideas and saw this as a government-sponsored chance to continue that research. Their most advanced ideas were based on the research of Stephan J. Bartowski. You remember that computer lab Dad had at the old house?"

Ellie nodded.

"That was the first Intersect. I know because when I was about ten, I snuck into his lab and accidentally downloaded it."

Ellie was confused. "That was twenty years ago. How come—"

"Dad didn't fully explain it to me. I just remembered myself a few months ago."

"What do you mean by 'downloaded it'?"

"It'll be easier to understand after this next part. So anyway. Remember the night of that birthday party you threw for me? The one with all of your friends you were trying to hook me up with?" Chuck rolled his eyes at Sarah who was smirking, "That night, someone broken into the NSA/CIA facility that housed the new, untested government Intersect. He destroyed it and emailed the contents to me."

"Why would anyone do that?"

"Because he was Bryce Larkin." 

"That bastard! It only makes sense that backstabber was a traitor. I assume that is why he was shot, not some bank robbery."

Chuck smiled at his over-protective sister. "Yes, that is why Casey shot him. Actually, it's more complicated than that. It's really a very long and complicated story. I'll tell you the whole thing someday. The point is he emailed the Intersect to me because he trusted me and because he knew of my real test results in Professor Fleming's class."

"The one he said you cheated in?"

"Right. It turns out I did so well in a subliminal image recognition test, I was going to be drafted into the CIA to work on the Intersect project. The false accusation saved me, until he was desperate. After emailing me the Intersect images, Sarah and Casey were sent to..." Chuck paused, no need to scare Ellie with the truth about Casey. He might get another frying pan to the head. "...protect me."

"So you got involved in this because of that Bryce Larkin?"

"At first, yes, but later I chose to stay in. Then I was kicked out. Then I forced myself back in. Then I quit. Then I couldn't get another job so I had to return. It's all really complicated. Anyway, back to the Intersect. The Intersect uses images to encode subliminal information that gets stored in the brain. The brain takes that information and makes associations. When an auditory or visual cue is encountered, a human intersect experiences a 'flash' of insight and can suddenly know obscure intelligence related to that cue."

"I think I'm following so far."

"You've seen some of Dad's research on that storage technique. It's one of the areas his work was not fully finished. Because of the unfinished part of the research, not everyone can comprehend all of the Intersect images and make all of the flashes."

Knowing Chuck would be modest, Sarah jumped in, "Chuck is the best at it. He can process all of it."

Ellie eyes widened in surprised, but she quickly recovered. "So if Chuck is so important, why is he a spy, not some kind of analyst, working safely in an office?"

Chuck spared Sarah from the accusation, "A couple reasons. First, experience has shown my flashes in the field have been vital to the success of many missions. Initially, Sarah and Casey tried to minimize my exposure." Sarah rolled her eyes. "Although I admit sometimes I didn't listen." Chuck smiled at his girlfriend.

"However, something happened the night of your wedding. I downloaded a new Intersect that includes knowledge about many skills, including things like Kung Fu."

Ellie realized the implication. "You mean all of us... Devon, Sarah, Morgan, and I... since we all downloaded this Intersect, we now know all of the government's secrets... and we know Kung Fu?"

"Well, Sarah already knows most of those things. But in all seriousness, I don't know for certain. Like I said before, not everyone can process all of the Intersect. So you might just know some of the secrets and some skills like... competitive water skiing. The Intersect computer you downloaded was actually built by the Ring."

"Those guys that killed Dad?"

"Yes. I'm trying to figure out how it works and how the design is different than the other Intersects that have been built." Chuck added under his breath, "So far, my initial assessment is that it is barely functioning."

Ellie still heard him. "So now we have this broken Intersect, in our heads!"

"Don't worry. I can fix it. Dad's laptop also has an Intersect. After our meeting with Beckman, I'm going to reinitialize that computer to clear out the Intersect. You and Devon will be back to normal. I'd like to do everyone else, too, but my guess is Beckman is going to want me to run some tests first. The government wants more human intersects, of course. So far, there have only been three: my dad, the Ring agent who killed him, and me."

"If you can remove the Intersect, why haven't you done it?"

"The truth is... the Intersect gives me a purpose. I can help people, and it helps me protect the people I love."

Ellie felt a bit of pride for her brother, but that didn't mean she wasn't still concerned. "Ok. I think I understand a little better, but we're coming back to this later, brother. But now, I have another question."

Relief crossed Chuck's face. The hard part was over. "What's your other question?"

"Where's the ring, Chuck?"

Chuck did a double take. "Wha-what? Oh no. Sarah has you working me now, too? No, no, no!"

"I don't care if your girlfriend/partner is a cross between La Femme Nikita and Rambo. I'm willing to concede my protection rights to no less than a fiancée." Ellie was firm, but with a hint of a smile at the corners of her mouth. Sarah meanwhile had a twinkle in her eyes and was covering her mouth, holding back a laugh.

Chuck went into full defense mode. "Sarah found my plan. I'm still working on the new plan. It's being fine-tuned."

"Chuck, trust me. I know for a fact all you need is a nice evening with the one you want to spend the rest of your life with. No fancy plan is needed."

Chuck turned to Sarah. "Oh, so you told her about my desire to have a worthy proposal plan, but you didn't tell her what _really _happened with _her _proposal."

Sarah opened her mouth to rebut, but realized there wasn't much point.

Chuck continued, "No wonder she doesn't realize exactly how high the bar really is."

Ellie's bemusement turned to curiosity. "What do you mean, Chuck? I know Morgan found my ring earlier the day before in your room. It threw me off track a little, because I thought you were proposing to Sarah _three years ago_. Other than that, it was just a nice dinner, a wonderful evening together, and a simple proposal."

Chuck failed to hold back a snicker. "Sarah and I weren't even really dating at that time. We were just cover dating."

Sarah jumped in, "Hey! We still loved each other. We just didn't know it, yet."

"I did!"

"Well I did almost pull a gun on Long— the CIA collection agent for you."

Ellie was getting lost in the obscure references. "Ok, Chuck. What really happened?"

"Let's see. First Devon gave me the ring to hide, so I put it in my bag in my locker. Morgan stole the bag because it contained a game demo I was hiding from him. Most importantly, Jeff and Lester, in a drunken fit of madness decided to steal Big Mike's marlin and hide it in my room."

"So what? Why is that important?" Ellie interrupted.

"You'll see. Next, Morgan found the ring."

"I was there for that part. He left with the ring and the fish, after a meltdown for being left out of the whole proposal-to-Sarah decision"

"Right. He put in the ring in the fish and hid it in the Wienerlicious freezer."

"So you had to track down the ring, and Big Mike had you and John searching for the fish. They were together. You found them. What's the big deal?"

"I haven't gotten to the good part yet. Yes, Big Mike wanted the marlin, but somebody else wanted it more: the pita delivery girl."

"What?"

"See she was really a Ful— she was really an agent for an evil organization that was looking for the Human Intersect... me. They had bugged the Buy More, and the transmitter for the bugs was also inside the marlin, which now contained your ring. The girl got to the fish first."

"Hey! I had her until I dialed up the security cameras," Sarah interjected.

"I know, honey. That's what you get for following protocol," Chuck teased as Sarah huffed. "Anyway, a CIA collection agent whisked me away for extraction to some undisclosed bunker, never to see my friends or family again. My only hope was Sarah would visit. Before that could happen, Sarah tracked me down on a downtown rooftop. The shawarma girl killed the agent and captured me, so Sarah tackled her off the building into a dumpster. Final round knock-out to... Sarah!"

Sarah continued the story, "We spend several hours digging through the dumpster to find the ring. The whole day, Chuck had been more concerned about your ring than he'd been about the possibility of getting thrown into an underground bunker. It was really sweet. We found the ring and returned it just in time for Devon's proposal, which we watched from the window, by the way."

"Would they really do that? Would the CIA take away Chuck forever?"

"No. Not anymore. Back then, Chuck was classified as an asset. His safety was more important than his freedom, and him not falling into enemy hands was more important than his life. It was close a couple of times, but I managed to prevent it from happening. The second time we found your dad, we had gone AWOL, trying to keep him out of a bunker. Now, Chuck is a full-fledged agent, not an asset. That's why we can date, and that's why he is safe from a bunker."

"But the CIA could send him anywhere."

"Just like members of the military, that's part of the job."

"Unlike the military, I normally get to go with my beautiful, kick-ass girlfriend." Chuck winked at Sarah.

Sarah smiled and continued, "You and Devon have travel limitations while you are on call. The truth is, even when Chuck was out of the CIA last summer, he still had the Intersect in his head and could be considered a national security risk. Technically, they should have reclassified him as an asset. I think they were holding off as a favor to Casey and me. But overall, Chuck is better off as an agent than an asset."

"But what now that Devon and I are Human Intersects?" Ellie sounded concerned.

"Don't worry. Chuck has been put in charge of the Intersect project. So the worst place you might have to stay is Castle, and that is only until he figures out how to remove it."

"And hopefully I can do that by tomorrow," Chuck added.

"Can't you do that to yourself so you can get away from the CIA?" Ellie asked.

Chuck sighed. "I have. Twice. The first time Dad did it, but I had to re-upload to save Sarah and Casey's lives."

"And yours too, Chuck," Sarah interrupted. "Ellie, Chuck and I broke up after he re-uploaded because I thought it would change him. It didn't. He is still the sweet, caring man I fell in love with."

Chuck continued, "The second time I lost the Intersect was because of something mom did using one of dad's devices. We still don't understand it because we have not recovered the device."

Sarah picked up the story, "That experience taught me something. When Chuck no longer had a functioning Intersect, he was captured because the bad guys _thought _he did. He was still a target, but was unable to defend himself. I love him with or without the Intersect, but he is safer with it."

"Why didn't you protect him?" Ellie asked Sarah. This whole situation was sounding less safe again.

Chuck answered for her, "Another CIA agent/scientist was brought it to 'fix me'. He didn't know what he was talking about, and it got him killed. Sarah and I now have a couple of new rules, which Beckman is going along with. First, any new replacement partners have to be approved by _both _of us. Second, I'm in charge of any Intersect research done on me or with the two Intersect computers we have. I'm tired of the CIA and NSA bringing in so-called 'experts' to fix something they've only read about. All of the original designers are either dead, like dad, or in prison, like Zarnow and the Ring's design team. I'm the only person who has read through dad's original research, which was destroyed in his old hide-out. That makes me the expert. Beckman agrees, at least for now."

Ellie wasn't happy about all of this, but at least her brother seemed to be taking charge. "So back to this proposal—"

"I see you have ganged up on me now and won't let this go."

Ellie and Sarah shared the biggest silly grins.

"I thought that story would show you how high the bar really is: CIA extraction, fights in the Wienerlicious, enemy agents thrown from rooftops…" Chuck pleaded.

"Chuck, any proposal from you will beat our first cover proposal." Sarah put her hand on Chuck's forearm.

"Sure. Casey shoving a couple rings in our face during an uncomfortably platonic cover date on Valentine's Day right after admitting we are best friends. That's not a hard bar to clear. You realize that proposal led to the suburbs fiasco that had your co-conspirator here saying I should break up with you."

Ellie shrunk sheepishly.

"Something simple like our last one would be fine by me, Mr. Charles," Sarah smiled.

Chuck almost choked. "Simple? Ok, let's go AWOL, running away from the CIA and NSA on a romantic train ride through Europe while trying to capture a Basque terrorist."

"Oh, you're right. That wasn't that simple. Fine, I'll let you plan a little while longer. Could you at least tell me where the ring is?"

"It is someplace neither of you would ee-ver look," Chuck sing-songed.

"Oh no. Sarah, that means Morgan has it."

On cue, Morgan walked back in the room.

Ellie started the interrogation, "Morgan, We're trying to figure out where Chuck hid Sarah's ring. He said we would never look there. That means your room."

Morgan shot a hand to his month, but then realized something as he withdrew it. "I honestly have no idea."

Sarah jumped in, "Ellie, I've checked his room." Under her breath, she added, "I was wearing gloves and a surgical mask."

"Did you check his shoe rack?"

Chuck interjected, "Let me just say, Morgan wouldn't look where I have hidden it either."

Sarah's mind churned. "Morgan, what shoes do you not wear anymore?"

"I keep a fairly regular rotation, but lately—"

"Morgan! Don't do it!" Chuck cried.

Sarah leveled a stare at Morgan. "Chuck, I've told you she scares me more than you do," he said in defense.

Sarah grinned. "I don't need to see it. I just need to know it is not hiding in some fish that might be stolen by one of Volkoff's agents."

"See, she has a perfectly legitimate reason. Lately, I'm not wearing my Benihana training shoes with the metal tops that protect against dropped knives. I just think of those as 'Anna' shoes, so it would be too weird now. Actually I thinking of getting rid—"

Chuck's head dropped to the table. "Great. Just great, Morgan! Now I need to come up with a new hiding place from the world's greatest spy."

Sarah and Ellie high-fived each other.

"You're just lucky Morgan didn't throw them out," Ellie teased.

"I've added an RFID tag with an alarm around the door frame, slider, and bedroom windows. The box contains a passive GPS chip that can be remotely activated. No, I am not telling you the code or the frequency."

"I see you are all in good spirits."

"General! How long—"

"Long enough. First things first. Where is Colonel Casey?"

"About that, General. Casey was feeling... a little left out. So he decided to get himself an Intersect, too."

Surprisingly, the General grinned slightly. "Of course he did. I hope you have that thing turned off now?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good. I think five new Intersects is plenty for our initial tests. Our scientists—"

"Sorry to interrupt, General, but my sister is eight months pregnant. Also, her husband has not reacted well to the download and is currently under sedation. The first priority is to get the Intersect removed from them both. There are health issues to consider."

Beckman's standard frown returned. "I see. I guess three subjects would be sufficient, assuming Colonel Casey is ok."

On cue, Casey walked in, looking a little worse for wear.

"Ready to go, ma'am."

"Excellent. Have you determined what happened, Chuck?"

"Not yet, General. The diagnostics are dumping their reports now. It'll take me a little while to go through everything, but I might have more information by tomorrow."

"I see. It sounds like that should remain your top priority, after helping your family, of course. Meanwhile, I have a mission for the rest of you. Could you please excuse us, doctor?"

XXXXXXXX

_**A few hours later**_

Ellie wasn't sure what to make of all of it. Casey and Sarah were loading up with some very big guns. While Ellie knew they were spies, actually seeing Sarah in full tactical gear, loaded with multiple grenades, knives and guns was a real eye-opener. Even Morgan had a weapon, although Casey had indicated it was not loaded. Maybe that is what Chuck normally used—an unloaded weapon. Although Sarah had told her Chuck preferred tranquilizers to real guns, so maybe his guns were loaded.

Meanwhile, Chuck was freaking out. At first that did not seem unusual because Ellie had only seen Chuck the spy twice. In Costa Gravis he was calm, but in that CIA/Ring building, he seemed anything but calm.

Then Ellie realized exactly why Chuck was freaking out. He didn't want them to go _because_ they each had an Intersect. That just didn't make sense, since this Intersect thing was what supposedly kept Chuck safe. Well, that and Sarah. Since Sarah and three Intersects were going on this mission, Ellie reasoned they must be really safe. Casey seemed pretty tough, too.

After some mission prep in the other room, Chuck finally joined her sitting in the infirmary with a still sedated Devon. She saw the look in his eyes. It was strong concern, bordering on panic.

"Chuck, if you need to go."

"No, I have to stay here and reinitialize Dad's laptop for Intersect removal. It's just..."

"I know. You want to protect the people you love. I'm starting to realize sometimes you can't. Sarah and Casey really seem to know what they are doing. I'm sure they'll be fine."

"I wish I knew that. What you don't understand is I'm used to seeing them go on missions. I worry, but I know they are the best. This time is different."

"I thought the Intersect will keep them safer."

"For a long time, the Intersect was a little... glitchy for me. No, don't worry. I know how to use it now. But this is still new for them."

Ellie understood. "I'm sure they will be fine, Chuck." Ellie just wished she believed it.

Suddenly a large vent near the floor opened, and Greta slid out. Chuck immediately went to help her up.

"Greta, why are you using a Castle slide entrance? That must be really hard in heels."

"I apologize, Agent Carmichael. With mission prep underway, the outdoor entrance is under lockdown."

"Ok, but what about—"

"That's why I am here. I am concerned the home theatre entrance is about to be compromised."

"Let me guess, by Jeff and Lester."

"Yes."

Chuck covered his eyes with his hands and groaned, "As if we need really needed something else to go wrong."

XXXXXXXX

A/N: Another big reveal chapter. If you like them, I suggest "Chuck vs. the Whole Truth." If not, I apologize. I really backed myself into a corner in this story, and TV's typical edited/montage reveals bug me.

Coming next… Chapter 6 – Team Intersect vs. the World

(The new Intersects finally see some action.)


	6. Team Intersect vs the World

_Published: 25 Jan 2011_

XXXXXXXX

_**Here're a few things you should know, in case you forgot.**_

_Chuck's head dropped to the table. "Great. Just great, Morgan! Now I need to come up with a new hiding place from the world's greatest spy."_

_-X-_

_"Not yet, General. The diagnostics are dumping their reports now. It'll take me a little while to go through everything, but I might have more information by tomorrow."_

_"I see. It sounds like that should remain your top priority, after helping your family, of course. Meanwhile, I have a mission for the rest of you. Could you please excuse us, doctor?"_

_-X-_

_"That's why I am here. I am concerned the home theatre entrance is about to be compromised."_

_"Let me guess, by Jeff and Lester."_

XXXXXXXX

**Chapter 6 – Team Intersect vs. the World**  
**An abandoned warehouse by the docks**

XXXXXXXX

_**Two hours later**_

"Ugh. What happened?" Morgan rolled over on the floor and rubbed his face.

"Are you ok, Morgan? You just blacked out for ten minutes." Sarah leaned over Morgan, search for a head wound.

"I need some ice cream," Morgan groaned. He looked around and saw that were still in an empty room with no windows, a single locked door, and a single ceiling vent, inaccessible over twelve feet above them.

"Morgan, I don't work at the Orange Orange anymore, and I served yogurt there, not ice cream." Sarah deadpanned.

"No. This is worse than any hangover I've ever had. Ice cream is the perfect cure all for hangovers."

"Get a grip, Moron. You just passed out for no reason," Casey grunted from his position on the floor across the room.

"No, Casey, there's definitely a reason. Didn't you flash?"

"No. Are you saying you did?" Casey was confused.

"Well... yeah. What about you, Sarah?"

Morgan appeared fine, so Sarah found a neutral wall to sit against. "I flashed on the guard, but it took a few minutes," Sarah admitted. "It wasn't instantaneous like Chuck."

"So, I'm the only one who didn't flash? Just great. I'm never going to hear the end of this." Casey thought the situation could not get much worse. "We should have known something was up in the briefing when Chuck flashed and we didn't."

"I should have said something, but I did flash briefly after the meeting was over. What about you Morgan?"

"I really wasn't paying attention." Morgan looked around the room, refusing to make eye contact.

"So that means I have data flashes several minutes late, Morgan blacks out from the flashes, and Casey doesn't flash at all."

"I'm sure your boyfriend will be fascinated with your observations. However that doesn't help us get out of here." Casey was fed up with the Intersect. He was enough of a spy not to need the crutch.

Sarah ignored Casey's quip, "I pretty sure I got a distress signal off to Chuck. With our Intersects not working, we should probably wait until he can rescue us."

"Another thing I won't live down." Casey closed his eyes, trying to find his calm.

XXXXXXXX

_**Earlier at Castle**_

Ellie was impressed. Chuck's earlier panic about being left out of the mission was replaced with a renewed determination. Some might say he was trying to stay distracted, and they wouldn't be wrong. Even so, Ellie rarely had seen her brother apply himself so well.

First Chuck dealt with the Jeff and Lester situation. The surveillance feed showed the two of them passed out in the home theatre room. Chuck issued some quick orders to Greta, who immediately departed through an air duct to keep a closer eye on the two losers. The surprising thing was Greta left with a "yes sir!" to Chuck. Ellie had not expected anyone in the CIA to be following Chuck's orders... except Morgan, of course.

Chuck then hurried back to check those diagnostics he ran earlier. After a few minutes, he returned, reviewing some reports on a handheld computer.

Ellie could tell Chuck had almost figured something out when Casey, Morgan, and Sarah checked-in, ready to depart. At that moment, Chuck and Sarah's eyes met. They exchanged a chaste kiss. The kiss was not long or overly passionate. Yet in that brief kiss, Ellie suddenly understood several things. First, Ellie realized the difference between two years of so-called "cover kisses" and what she just witnessed. Before, the love was there. But now, the world simply melted away, as if nothing else mattered but the two of them. With the simple image of Sarah kissing her brother while wearing full tactical gear, Ellie lost all lingering doubts about whether Sarah was manipulating Chuck to be in the CIA. She also completely understood the lengths this woman would go for him.

As Ellie finished her contemplations, she looked around and saw Team Intersect was gone and Chuck was back to work. Ellie had dozens of questions, but they would have to wait. Chuck was working on fixing her husband, and that was more important right now. Chuck mumbled that he wished he was quarterbacking the mission, but Morgan would be doing that from an on-site van.

After a half hour or so, Ellie had finished her water and snack, checked on Devon who was still asleep, and found a pillow to make the conference room chair more comfortable. Returning to the conference room, she found Chuck talking to that general. The surprising thing was Chuck appeared to be chewing her out.

The General showed brief surprise at Ellie's presence, but Chuck was not pausing his tirade so she could comment about it. While Ellie did not understand everything that was said, it seemed like the CIA and NSA scientists did not follow proper safety and monitor protocols while testing the Ring's Intersect. As a result, it was broken before Chuck even got his hands on it. He said something about an over-heated chip, a melted circuit board, and some fundamental design flaws in the Ring's computer. Effectively, the Ring Intersect Project was over. RIP was RIP. When Chuck finally took a breath, the General simply said, "I see" and did not give Chuck the dressing down Ellie expected.

Chuck rounded up the "discussion" by recommending the other scientists be brought into custody to ensure they did not download the Intersect without reporting it. The General agreed. Chuck said he thought their dad's laptop could still be used to remove the Intersect and he planned to do so with Devon and Ellie as soon as he had the computer safely configured.

After the call, Ellie was even more impressed. She had seen Chuck do his computer thing, though not quite at this level. She never knew he had it in him to stand up to a general. Chuck was really good at his CIA job—at least the safe part of his job, here in Castle. That was the problem, of course. How could Ellie be sure Chuck was safe when he was on a mission?

Ellie tried to take a nap, but with Sarah, Casey, and Morgan out risking their lives, it wasn't happening. After another half hour, she gave up. Back in the conference room, Greta was talking through the speaker system. Apparently, the trouble twins had woken, took one look at Greta, and ran out of the room. She was still monitoring their antics.

After that call, Ellie couldn't help herself, "How's it going?"

"I've almost got it, Sis. Just wait a few minutes until this compiles, and I'll be ready to remove the Intersect from Devon."

"Are you sure this is safe?"

"Yes. Dad did this to me the night of your rehearsal dinner. Of course I downloaded the 2.0 the very next night. My point is, I'm using his program, with a few simply changes that account for the different Intersect database. You'll just need to trust him and trust me."

"I trust you, Chuck."

Chuck smiled.

"And Chuck, I might not like all of this spy stuff, but I can see you are good at it. I'm really proud of you."

Chuck's smile exploded into a huge grin. "This is nothing, Ellie. You should have seen it when Sarah and I worked together to stop a crew robbing a bank or when we took down a Basque terrorist cell." Chuck tilted his head in surprise at what he just said. "Then again, maybe not. I don't want you around anything like that."

"See, that's how I feel."

"I understand. I hope you understand, though, that I am trained for this. I know how to fully use the Intersect to protect myself, and I have a team that would do anything to keep me safe. We would do anything to keep each other safe. We got each other's backs."

Ellie nodded slightly in resignation.

Suddenly, alarms went off and the computer screens flashed a red alert signal.

"Oh crap! I had to jinx it!"

"What is it?"

"Sarah, Casey, and Morgan are in trouble. I have to go rescue them."

"Do _you _have to go? Can't their Intersects save them?"

"Only if they are working properly. The fact they set off the distress signal means they have probably been captured."

Chuck typed furiously at a keyboard, bringing up heat image satellite photos on the monitors.

"There they are!"

Chuck pulled out his phone and dialed. "Greta! Sarah's distress signal has been triggered. I'm leaving in five minutes to rescue them. I need you to coordinate SWAT reinforcements from Castle. Also, please keep an eye on my sister."

Chuck sprinted and slid out of the room. Ellie saw him emerge two minute later in tactical gear, loaded up with two guns (which Ellie hoped were tranquilizer guns) and several canister grenades. He was also carrying a large duffle. "Sorry, Sis. I have to go. I'll clear out your Intersects when I get back. I love you."

Chuck gave her a brief hug before running up the stairs to the elevator. Ellie remained where she was... stunned. 

XXXXXXXX

A/N: Coming next…the conclusion... Chapter 7 – Chuck vs. Team Intersect

I know I skipped out on the Team Intersect action. Don't fear. Next chapter will explain what happened to Team Intersect, what's going on with Jeff and Lester, and hopefully make clear my point in writing this whole story.


	7. Chuck vs Team Intersect

_Published: 26 Jan 2011_

XXXXXXXX

_**Here're a few things you should know, in case you forgot.**_

_Sarah ignored Casey's quip, "I pretty sure I got a distress signal off to Chuck. With our Intersects not working, we should probably wait until he can rescue us."_

_"Another thing I won't live down." Casey closed his eyes, trying to find his calm._

_-X-_

_Back in the conference room, Greta was talking through the speaker system. Apparently, the trouble twins had woken, took one look at Greta, and ran out of the room. She was still monitoring their antics._

_-X-_

_"Sarah, Casey, and Morgan are in trouble. I have to go rescue them."_

_"Do you have to go? Can't their Intersects save them?"_

_"Only if they are working properly. The fact they set off the distress signal means they have probably been captured."_

XXXXXXXX

**Chapter 7 – Chuck vs. Team Intersect**  
**An abandoned warehouse by the docks**

XXXXXXXX

_**One hour later**_

"Clear!"

Sarah, Casey, and Morgan looked up, so see the air vent cover come crashing to the ground between them. It was followed soon after by a rope and then an upside-down Chuck.

"It's about time!" Casey complained.

"Casey, Casey, Casey. Just for that, maybe I shouldn't give you this fully loaded—"

"Give me that." Casey yanked one gun from Chuck's hand as Chuck passed the other to Sarah.

"Casey? What do you say?" Chuck teased. 

"Uh, thank you for the gun. So how do we get out of here?"

"I'm assuming climbing up the rope is out. Your Intersects are glitchy, aren't they?"

"Time for plan B, buddy," Morgan said.

"Good thing I have one. Honey, you care to do the honors?" Chuck handed Sarah a tiny block of C-4, a fuse, a lighter and explosive putty.

Sarah smiled, "I would love to, dear." She quickly connected the block to the door lock, and all of them took position on the opposite side of the room immediately after Sarah lit the fuse.

The bang of the explosion left a small hole where the door handle was. Casey couldn't help but quip, "Get ready for the goons."

Chuck calmly replied, "No problem." Pulling out his radio, "Team A, Team B, move in! Move in!"

"How did you get Colonel Sanders to come?" Casey queried. "He's been ordered to not take your calls."

"I know. I used local law enforcement. SWAT was more than happy to bust this gun smuggling operation."

"Beckman's gonna love this." Casey rolled his eyes.

"Guys, let's just get out of here!" Sarah interjected.

The next five minutes were a blur. Unlike the movies, these gun runners did not opt for the big showdown. Instead, they immediately tried to make a run for it. Most of the low-level guards surrendered quickly to SWAT. Unfortunately, the leaders got away with a few guards. It was over so fast, Casey started complaining he didn't get a chance to shoot anyone.

Chuck told the officer-in-charge it would be better to pretend the four of them were never there. After seeing the CIA badge, the officer didn't argue and returned to securing the scene.

Ten minutes later, Chuck and Sarah were snuggled in the back of Casey's Crown Vic, which Chuck had driven to the warehouse. They should have left a while ago, but Casey had felt the need to assert himself over the various ATF and DEA agents that were arriving on the scene. Chuck had asked Morgan to fetch Casey, but as of yet, he had been unsuccessful.

"You've been quiet," Chuck whispered in Sarah's ear.

Sarah turned her head and gave Chuck a quick kiss. "Thank you for saving me again."

"Always. But that's not why you are quiet."

Chuck waited, knowing Sarah would tell him at her own pace. "I flashed a couple of times. I've know you for over three years. I can recognize the instant you start to flash. But I never knew what it was really like." Sarah paused trying to find the words. "The way you handle it all... the images, the skills... you're amazing."

Chuck tried to lighten the mood, "And that's why you love me."

"No! The fact that I love you has never had anything to do with the Intersect. It's just... getting a brief glimpse of how you live in the world and the burden you bare. I'm proud of you."

Chuck brushed his fingers down Sarah's cheek before pulling her into a passionate kiss. After about a minute, they were broken up by a tapping on the window and the opening of the passenger side front door.

Morgan slid into the front seat. "Sorry to interrupt the post-mish make-out session," Morgan said as Sarah ducked her head with a smile into Chuck's shoulder, "but Casey said he would be back in two minutes."

Undeterred by Morgan, Chuck lifted Sarah's chin and gazed into her eyes. "Now you know how I've always felt about you."

"Chuck, I've decided I'm going turn off my spy mode with respect to the proposal plan." Chuck looked at Sarah suspiciously. "I know it is going to happen, eventually. That's what is important to me. And while I might not like surprises, I know it is important to you, so I am going to let you have this one."

"Thank you, Sarah," Chuck replied and he kissed her again.

Sarah quickly pulled away. "However, if you get sloppy and I hear something by accident, that's all your fault." She grinned.

XXXXXXXX

_**Two hours later**_

_**Castle**_

Chuck, Sarah, and Casey stood behind the conference table, impatiently waiting for General Beckman's appearance. She was late, and that was unusual.

Chuck wished he and known this meeting would be starting... fifteen minutes late. That would have been enough time to get the Intersect out of Ellie, Sarah, Morgan, and Casey. Awesome's de-intersecting had gone off without a hitch, and he was already much calmer. One down, four to go.

Finally, Beckman appeared on the center monitor, and she did not look happy. "Colonel. Agents. This is quite the jurisdictional nightmare you left me. Why would you ever bring local law enforcement into a mission? LAPD wants to hold a press conference bragging about how they prevented the delivery of several thousand guns into the US. They don't seem to realize that as long as the leaders are free, this is an ongoing investigation. It's taking a lot of favors to keep this quiet. Fortunately, ATF is dealing with them now, and the DEA is following their trail back to Mexico. So for now, it is out of our hands. However, before we completely forget about this evening, I would like to know what the hell happened!"

Sarah started the story, "As you know, it was supposed to be a quick in-and-out mission: break into the warehouse office and find out when the leaders were meeting to negotiate the arms sale. Unfortunately, security had been increased because the meeting was tonight."

"I understand that. What I don't understand is how three Intersects got captured."

Everyone winced at the accusation. Casey responded this time, "The Intersects didn't work, ma'am."

"Really? I seem to remember Grimes locking you in a cell using the Intersect this very morning."

"He got lucky."

Sarah interrupted, "General, the mission started as planned. Casey and I infiltrated the warehouse at two different entry points. With the increased security, I soon ran into a guard. As I instinctually went in to neutralize him, I flashed mid-kick. The flash threw me off balance, so I failed to connect. The next thing I knew, I woke up in a locked room with Casey."

"I assume you had a similar problem, Colonel?"

"Not exactly, ma'am. I remembered Chuck normally hangs back a second waiting for the flash. While I was waiting to flash, I was tranq'ed."

Chuck offered an explanation. "You see General, Sarah reacts faster than the Intersect and is deadlier without it, and Casey… Well, let's just say for him, the Intersect did not appear to take."

"I see. What about Grimes? Speaking of which, where is he?"

"Morgan is dealing with a Buy More cover issue right now. He really did not want to be around for the recounting of his story in person. Too many junior high P.E. flashbacks."

"Chuck!"

"Sorry, General. Morgan was running surveillance. When he realized Sarah and Casey had been captured, he entered the warehouse to rescue them. Shortly after discovering a two man patrol, he discovered his own Intersect problem." Casey chuckled as Sarah smirked slightly, despite herself.

"What was his problem, Chuck?"

"Well it seems the Intersect was programmed for someone… shall we say… less vertically challenged than Morgan."

"I don't understand."

Casey couldn't hold back any longer, "The pip squeak was too short to land a punch."

"I thought the Intersect was working for him. That was how he escaped this morning, wasn't it?"

Chuck regained control of the conversation. "Yes. The height disadvantage is not a problem for very close quarters combat or some acrobatics. However in regular hand-to-hand, the Intersect does not account for lack of reach. Morgan's punch and kicks did not land, so he was captured as well."

"Do we know the limitations?"

"It would require further testing. My guess is it is programmed for approximately six feet. Bryce was almost that height. It might have worked for Sarah, but it still would have caused some difficulty."

"I believe it actually helps Chuck," Sarah added. "With his slightly longer reach, Chuck punches and kicks through his targets."

"That makes sense. So did any of you have any information flashes?" Beckman asked.

Sarah answered. "Yes, but we had complications there as well."

"Complications?"

"Morgan and I both flashed on one of the lieutenants who came to 'inspect the prisoners'. We've already relayed the information to the on-site agents."

"Colonel, you didn't flash?"

"No, ma'am. I would point out that Agent Walker flashed several minutes after the scumbag left the room. Morgan passed out ten minutes from his flash."

"So you are saying that the Intersects were virtually useless on this mission."

No one disagreed.

Beckman looked frustrated as she continued. "Let me get this straight. We have five new Intersects. One is too short and passes out from information flashes. One is better off without the Intersect skills and flashes too late to be useful in the field. One had a panic attack, another is pregnant, and the final one can't seem to flash at all."

"That is correct, General."

Beckman sighed. "So this means…"

Chuck continued. "The Intersect 2.0 is useless for trained agents. At lease the combat portions are. It gets in the way of their training. Data-only Intersects might be useful, but the Agent would need to be tested for image retention and processing ability. Agent Walker is in the top 1% for Fleming's subliminal image test. That was higher than Bryce. This means much less than 1% of candidates would be able to process the Intersect like I do."

"What do you think happened with Grimes and his blackout?"

"I don't know for sure, but I have a theory. Morgan has always had a fantastic eye for detail. He just sees the world differently, so the Intersect informational database might not be 100% compatible with his neural pathways."

"This sounds like further research into creating more Human Intersects is a waste of money and resources."

"For now, I agree with that assessment. However once Ellie's maternity leave is concluded, I would still like to go through my dad's research with her. She already solved one problem my dad couldn't. Who's to say we might not be able to work together to make the Intersect more accessible? Also, I still need to research uploading information updates with my dad's laptop."

"Fine. I expect to see a revised research proposal when the time comes. Team, get some rest. I'm sorry my Intersect enthusiasm put you in this mess tonight." Beckman quickly hung up.

The three agents looked at each other in shock. Beckman had just apologized.

As their shock wore off, a form appeared on one of the side monitors. Chuck reached for the keyboard and moved the document to the center screen. It was a prisoner transfer order for two CIA scientists that had apparently downloaded the Ring's Intersect. They would be arriving the day after tomorrow for Intersect removal. They might not have had access to the Intersect data and skills, like Casey, but they still might be a security risk if they were captured and tortured with a Phase Three protocol. Regardless, Beckman considered them a threat because they failed to report their downloads to their superiors.

The rest of the night was busy. Chuck removed the Intersect from each of his teammates. Morgan was disappointed his headache did not go away with the Intersect.

The only person left was Ellie, and Chuck had something special in mind for her. They discussed it, and she agreed. Chuck would use the laptop to both remove the Intersect and to suppress her memories of the day. Devon would help cover the "missing day". Considering his wife was telling him to lie to her, he thought he could handle it.

Ellie was happy with everything she had learned today. Her brother was a valued CIA expert. He could stand up to a General when he was right. Sarah and Chuck could take care of each other, and he was going to marry her. Ellie could pass the baton and let Sarah be in charge of his safety. Despite all of that, Ellie was still his big sister and was still going to worry. The stress would not be good for the baby. That was why Ellie agree to the memory suppression plan. The one condition was that Chuck would remove the memory block after the baby came and Ellie had settled as a mother.

XXXXXXXX

"I'm sorry, Mr. Grimes, but somehow they know I work for the CIA."

"How could that happen? What did they find?"

"I don't know. They had a back wall panel open and had hooked up the big TV to one of the wires in the wall."

"One of the wires in the wall!? Oh man, that's where the Castle surveillance feed runs on its path to Casey's locker. You know what this means? They've download it. It's the end of the world as we know it!"

Greta stared at Morgan, confused. "Downloaded what?"

"Oh crap. Me and my mouth. Wait a second. You weren't in the main database because you're new. That means they saw the test images. Whew!"

"What do I have to do? I don't have to seduce one of them, do I? Because I have limits."

"Oh, no. Don't worry. You're going to have to transfer, though. Frankly we'd be better off with you instead of them, but they are vital to the cover. I'll find a colorful way of explaining your disappearance to Jeff and Lester. I'll also smooth it over with Beckman."

"That's sweet of your Morgan."

"Sorry, no, not happening. I'm taken. By Casey's daughter."

"Wow. _Casey's_ daughter. You're braver than I thought. And you're right. It's not happening. But thank you for your help." As Greta winked and strutted away, Morgan realized she was never serious.

Morgan resumed his search to find where Jeff and Lester had been hiding from the big, bad CIA agent.

XXXXXXXX

A/N: Sorry this story took so long, but as promised, I finished it. For some reason I felt guilty about not finishing it sooner. (Even though most stories around here go unfinished for much longer. I completely understand when real life gets in the way.)

As I was finishing this story I had several thoughts as to why it was less popular than my others. Besides the obvious reasons (e.g., Chuck is not on summer hiatus, the story wasn't written as well, the premise wasn't as good), I realized part of the problem was the type of story. It is not solely Chuck/Sarah focused, and the "humor" is situational. Also, few Chuck fan fiction stories feature the entire cast. Personally, I find that disappointing. Morgan, Jeff, Lester, Big Mike, Ellie, and Awesome provide most of the comedy of the show. Without them, the show is just another WTWT spy story with a lot of plot holes. With them, the show is so unique, entertaining, and just plain fun that a few plot holes can easily be forgotten. It's too bad so many authors can't stand most of the cast or simply ignore them.

Of course the other problem with this story was I lost some of my audience with the idea of multiple people with Intersects. The point of this story was nobody else in the Chuck world was equipped to handle the Intersect except Chuck. I just lost them before they could agree with me.

If anyone has a different approach or a completely different take on that idea, I would love to see it. I'm sure it would be more entertaining than this one.

Thank you to all of you that did review this story or who just stopped by to read it. I hope you enjoyed it.

Additional A/N (March 2011): Looking at the reaction to Chuck vs. the A-Team, it looks like a lot of people had the same problem with that story as this one. A lot of people don't like it when other people are Intersected. At least Chuck was put in charge of the Intersect research (like this story). Too bad Director Bently was not thrown in prison for illegally releasing classified information to a civilian without permission.


End file.
